


il dente di leone

by Sakhyu



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Female Sawada Tsunayoshi, Gen, Self-Insert, canon suicide attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-07-12 13:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7106050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakhyu/pseuds/Sakhyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I silently despaired. Why Tsuna? Why couldn't I have been reborn as a dandelion weed? At least then I would have a better chance of surviving! SI!fem!Tsuna</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which The Main Character Takes After Nana

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Alas, I am too poor to own KHR. So nope, you won't want my autograph.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I jumped on the bandwagon. Here, have a SI!fem!Tsuna story. This SI will literally be like an SI, or, well, a buttered up version of me. I'll try my best to talk about my faults, but, well, I'm not sure if I can remain completely impartial. This story was created because I wanted to see how someone like me would fare in the KHR world. I'm as bad as Tsuna in some ways, as a child I would trip down the stairs in any new building I visit. My knees were never free of dried blood. I was supremely clumsy, super easy to scare, etc etc. How would someone like that take over as Tsuna?

Ever since the creation of Time and Space, infinite universes began to exist. In Universe #000000, the universe in which all souls pass through first, we know these other worlds as the fiction books we've read or the television series we've watched.

A world about ninjas? A world about witches and wizards? A world about sparkly vampires? Yes, all of those worlds really _do_ exist.

Authors, you see, are the links between our world and the next. Visions of the other universes come to them naturally in snatches, and before long each author has enough information to write a book or a series. However, of course, how the author wants to portray the story is up to them. Events are toned down for the audiences, problems simplified . . .

Following that line of thought, have you ever wondered why some characters from one fandom seem similar to other characters in a different fandom? And no, it isn't because some authors are mooching off the skills of another.

The answer is _reincarnation_. Yes, reincarnation is real too. The first death we see in the world of ninjas, the boy-who-looked-like-a-girl and manipulated ice? He becomes the peach girl with a bun in the world of shinigami. That carrot-head in the world of shinigami? Well, he became the talented American transferee from the world of physics-defying basketball.

Reincarnation exists.

. . . But I really, _really_ wished it didn't.

* * *

 "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

"Curse you! I don't want another adventure!"  
― Me

* * *

 

In my previous life, I wasn't a particularly slow person. In fact, I could humbly say that my grades were usually ranked in the top 5% of my classes.

Thus, it was rather embarrassing for me to admit that it had taken me almost a _full year_ before I finally realized that I had been reborn.

The first year of my life was quite boring, for lack of better terms. I couldn't do much at all, except for manly withstanding the cooing of the many adults around me. In fact, I didn't really _understand_ much, if anything at all. Where were my parents? What day was it? Did I hand in my English essay yet?

. . . When I think back on it, it's funny what things stick with you even after you go belly-up.

However, slowly my senses cleared and the ever-present fuzziness in my mind disappeared. Before long, I realized that the people around me were certainly _not_ speaking English. Or French. Or Mandarin. But, despite whatever gibberish they were saying, the language felt familiar to me.

The answer popped into my head one day as I watched a beaming and pretty brown-haired woman tidy my clothes. It was Japanese.

My mind immediately brain-farted at that realization. Japanese? Why was I in Japan? Was I kidnapped? Why would I even be kidnapped? I panicked slightly, catching the attention of the woman who bent over and cooed soothingly.

And then, slowly, small oddities I had previously brushed off in my incoherent state popped into my mind.

I couldn't move my limbs that well. I was tiny, or the people around me turned into giants. I couldn't speak anything but monosyllabic sounds.

Fidgeting slightly to bring a hand to my face, I stared with wide eyes at the tiny limb. My tiny limb.

.

.

.

Oh. My. _God_.

. . . Why did these things always happen to me?

* * *

I had been just a normal girl in the other world. One in a sea of millions.

I had decent grades, like I said before. Of course, that didn't mean I wasn't used to failure. I would get tests where I only just barely pass, if I passed at all. My looks were rather average as well; in the very least I was easy on the eyes. I was short and skinny.

I was normal.

The only interesting thing about me was perhaps the fact that I liked music. Or, more specifically, I liked making music. I had picked up violin from a very young age, and by the time I was halfway through high school, I was good enough to become a teacher.

. . . But not good enough to become a top soloist. And in a world where majoring in medical sciences or business was the way to go, my stint in music remained just that: a hobby.

As I turned into a young adult, I had always wished that I had practised more. That I had put more into my music. I knew I could have gone somewhere with my talent, but I had been just too lazy. Too focused on playing outside when I was younger, too focused on studies when I was older. I didn't have enough time for music any more. It was something I was sure I would forever regret.

_If only I had another chance. If only I could go back in time._

But now . . .

I stumbled and pulled myself onto the chair before leaning over to change the radio station to one with classical music.

Now, I really _did_ have that chance.

With my new life, I quickly decided to fix all my previous mistakes. I was going to throw myself into music, and absolutely nothing was going to stop me.

.

.

.

I stood corrected. The Mafia and _Reborn_ were going to stop me. 

* * *

 "Tsu-chan!" A cheerful voice called out. I turned around and immediately stumbled toward it.

"Mama! Here!" I replied with a careless giggle, wobbling half-blindly until I ran smack into my new mother's legs.

Sawada Nana, the pretty woman that was always around me, was apparently my mother. I almost tripped in shock when I found out. After all, Nana looked unbelievably young, perhaps in her early twenties at best. I had originally thought that the woman was perhaps my aunt or even an older sister. It certainly explained why she was so oblivious and unconcerned with her only child.

The smiling woman swooped me up to hold me securely at her hip. I blinked, surprised. Nana's smile looked exceptionally bright that day.

Had something good happened lately?

"Mama?" I asked curiously, cocking my head to the side cutely. Nana squealed before twirling me around in pure glee.

The young woman gushed. "Tsu-chan! Your papa, Iemitsu, is coming home this week!"

The smile froze on my face. Thankfully, my overjoyed mother didn't notice.

You see, I already had my doubts when I found out my name was Sawada Tsunayoshi. But I had just brushed it off as my parents being very overzealous fans. After all, I was female, and the Tsuna from the series Katekyo Hitman Reborn _wasn't_.

That anime _slash_ manga series was something I had been temporary obsessed with, once upon a time in my old world. I was applying for universities at that time, stressed halfway to death when I decided to procrastinate on my supplementary essays and take a break. Katekyo Hitman Reborn, one of my younger friend's obsession, was that break.

I adored the series as I used it to temporarily relieve stress. But though it was a lovely story, that was all it was. A temporary break. I didn't even get to finish the whole series, stopping around the last arc before I had to go back to running around like a headless chicken to get into uni.

When I heard my full name for the first time, I had felt some apprehension and unease. After all, _reincarnation_ was apparently freaking possible so waking up in a manga could be too. But then I remembered my sex and decided that _nahhh_ , it was just a big coincidence.

Of course, it was then did I find out that my mother's name was Nana.

Okay, fine. I didn't even know my mother's name, sue me. It wasn't even completely my fault! Nana kept calling herself as Mama, and before long that was what I had unconsciously named her as. But when I realized her real name, I froze.

Sawada Tsunayoshi. Sawada Nana.

And now we have a Sawada Iemitsu. If one's an incident, two's a coincidence, then three is a pattern.

I gulped quietly as I plastered on a big smile for my beaming mother. I'll believe it when I see it.

.

.

.

I tried not to gape.

My, er, _father_ , came home, blond, burly, and with a bunch of smelly clothes.

If that wasn't enough for a great first impression, Iemitsu also brought back two additional luggages. And by luggages, I meant the Ninth boss of Vongola and a baby hitman in a fedora.

. . .

Okay, I see it now, but I _really_ don't want to believe it.

Cue mental breakdown even as I smiled winningly into pitch-black eyes.

_Why am I the main character?!_

_Why couldn't I have been reborn as a plant? Or-Or, as the chihuahua on my street?_

_Heck! Even being reborn as Mukurowl would be better!_

"Ciaossu." The baby, the baby, greeted. I tried to not let my smile twitch.

Nana squealed from her perch as she clung to a sweaty Iemitsu (which, by the way, ew). "Oh how cute! He looks only a bit younger than our Tsu-chan."

It was true. I was around three, give or take a few months. Time still flew in a manner that confused me.

Reborn, on the other hand, really looked like a tiny toddler. Like, an one year old toddler. Cute pudgy limps and puffy cheeks included. The manga really didn't give his cuteness any justice.

I eyed the chameleon on his hat warily even as I wobbled forward to go over to the only 'kid' with my age. On one hand, I was pretty sure that even black-hearted Reborn wouldn't hurt a cute child like me. On the other hand, he _did_ despise Iemitsu, and I _was_ the offspring of Iemitsu . . .

Ugh, too late to continue that line of thought. I was already in front of the silent baby.

"Hi!" I chirped, holding his stare with one of Nana's patented smiles. Y'know, the one that made flowers bloom and showered you with sparkles? Yeah, that smile.

Even amazing Reborn wasn't immune to it at full blast and up so close. Plus, since I was a cute toddler, it was even more effective. The tiny hitman blinked twice while even Leon twitched. Haha, did they think I was using Mist Flames or something?

". . . Hello." He answered, sounding rather resigned and bemused. I brightened even more at his words. I knew that tone. It was the tone my old friends usually used on me, the 'I-am-so-resigned-to-life-and-too-tired-to-complain' voice. Which meant that Reborn probably wouldn't tried shooting me when I breathed in his space!

Er, I hope. The glare he received from the Ninth was very reassuring too.

"My, Tsu-chan, why don't you and Reborn-chan go outside to play?" Nana giggled as she still clung to Iemitsu like a koala bear. On my side, I tried to not pale in fear.

Let us go somewhere else without the careful watch of the Ninth, so Reborn could murder me and hide my body? Of _course_. Thank you _so_ much for throwing me to the wolves, Mama.

But really. How oblivious could the woman be? Letting two toddlers out to play without any supervision? Or maybe Nana was more perceptive than I thought and could already tell that Reborn wasn't a normal baby? Hmm . . .

Grabbing one of my cute bouncy balls, I nodded compliantly. "Okay Mama!" Gesturing for the younger . . . er, older?―baby to follow me (I was so not touching him unless the deadly guy allowed me to), I made my way to the kitchen door.

And then crippling déjà vu hit me. I froze.

Wait. Just _wait_ a minute. Had Reborn ever visited child Tsuna back in canon? Actually, didn't Iemitsu and Timoteo visit Tsuna when he was five? Why were they all here when I was only three? Did I already mess up the timeline or something?!

Urg, I didn't think I was going to be so bad at this!

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't too against changing the timeline (I was _not_ going to be bullied, thank you very much), but I also had to take in the fact that canon Tsuna had a happily ever after. The things Tsuna was involved in; any event could have killed or crippled him or his friends. The Mafia world, despite all the rainbow coloured flames and sparkles, was _dangerous_.

"Are you going to open the door, or are you going to stand there looking like an idiot?" A voice drawled near my ear with complete sarcasm . . . Never mind the fact that I was three years old and technically shouldn't even _understand_ sarcasm.

Nevertheless, I played my part as a small child, screaming and jumping a foot into the air. The sad thing was that it wasn't even faked.

"Mou," I whined softly as I finally got my heart rate to calm down. "You meanie."

An amused glint sparkled in Reborn's eyes as I opened the door, stepped through, and then turned to him and threw my ball gently. What had happened during the Ninth's visit in canon? Hadn't Tsuna's flames been sealed because he was afraid of the dog on our street?

. . .

Okay, er, I was kind of scared of dogs too . . . even the small ones. It was an irrational fear that was created when my Mom, my _real_ mother, told me that she had gotten bitten by a dog before when I had been young. I never outgrew it.

. . . Oh well. If the dog does come by, I could always go and hide behind Reborn. Because I was so not getting my flames sealed. No sirree. There had been too many headcanons made by fans saying how the sealing was the reason why Tsuna became so, um, no-good. Seeing that I certainly did _not_ want to be no-good, I was not going to risk it.

"Catch?" Reborn asked with a raise of his eyebrow. I silently applauded him; it must have taken him forever to train his chibi facial muscles to do that.

Nodding fervently, I smiled. "Because Mama said outside!"

My speech wasn't all that good, even for a three year old. It was totally not my fault. Japanese was _hard_ , and even as an overzealous otaku I hadn't picked it all up yet. My brain was still too geared to Chinese and English . . . Why oh why couldn't I have been reborn into a _dubbed_ Katekyo Hitman Reborn world?!

"Still, catch?" Reborn repeated again, looking none too impressed. I mentally gulped. Uh oh, was that disdain I heard in his voice?

"Eh, you no like catch? Um. . . then . . . shopping?" I seriously pondered my own words. Nana and I lived a quite cushy and comfy life, so I didn't really know if Iemitsu sent home the bare wages of a construction worker or something more. It was why I tried to never ask Nana for something too expensive, a trait I had a feeling would follow me even as I grew up.

But since Daddy _Dearest_ was here . . . perhaps I _could_ get the one thing I wanted since birth.

"Yes, shopping," I beamed at Reborn as I answered my own question, skipping back inside to inform my parents of my decision. "I want new toy!"

* * *

 "I thought Tunafish wanted a toy?" Iemitsu said in confusion as he followed Nana into the darling little music shop. Both Reborn and the Ninth ("Call me Grandfather, little one!") followed indulgently.

Nana beamed as she defended my actions. "Tsu-chan must have wanted something from here."

Paying the adults and one baby behind me no attention, I wobbled up to the counter and gave the young man behind it my most sweetest smile. He blinked, a bit dazed from the sparkles, before bending down to my level.

"Why, hello there," the young man said. "Is there something you're looking for?"

I beamed again at the man, who according to the tag on his shirt, was the Namimori Music Shop's manager. _Perfect_.

"Yes," I said before pointing at one of the tiny violins on display with a smile. "I want that."

Iemitsu spluttered while both Reborn and the Ninth looked surprised. That was probably not something they had been expecting. Pfft, were they thinking that I was going mainstream and would want to buy a piano?

. . . Well, then again, I could brush up my piano skills too . . .

The manager glanced at my smiling mother, probably recognizing her as he sensed no resistance. Looking back at me with new eyes, he hummed and selected what looked to be an 1/8 sized violin and a matching bow before handing it to me.

I almost wept as I held the tiny instrument. It had been so, so long.

"You put your head there, hold the bow like this . . ." The man helped me get into position (wasn't going to blow my cover in front of _Reborn_ , of all people) and before long I was already playing a clear A.

I hummed softly, ignoring the surprised look of the manager as I tried the D string. Any violin smaller than a three quarters would usually sound pretty bad and squeaky. The 1/8 I was holding right now was no different. However, it would have to do until I got my full-size. Hopefully, that won't take me a long time.

Nana clapped her hands together happily as she manoeuvred the still confused Iemitsu to the counter with his wallet. "Tsu-chan has a talent in music! Mama is so proud."

I smiled at that, still relishing the feel of polished wood in my hands. Screw the Mafia. Screw Vongola. I was going to play violin whether they liked it or not. After all, if they didn't want a violin player for their Decimo, then they were more than welcome to find a new one!

* * *

**Chapter I End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> 1/16 violins to 1/8 violins are for 3-5 year olds, depending on their arm lengths. Nevertheless, even the 1/4 is quite tiny.
> 
> If any of the Vongola guys knew music, they would have been as surprised as the store manager when Tsuna made that first sound. Usually when you first start out on the instrument, you sound like a dying cat.
> 
> Starting violin at 3 is more uncommon than starting piano at 3, but its not completely unheard of. It is, however, not too recommended, because it takes longer to get the hang of playing violin and not making dying animal noises, so many younger kids tend to quit before they find their potential! I started when I was 7.


	2. In Which the Main Character Goes to Italy

I breathed in softly. Even now, years later with my precious violin, the smell of rosin was still a balm to my weary soul. Grabbing my piece of cloth, I wiped the sprinkles of white fluff off the glossy wood before packing up my small instrument. After taking a quick detour to the washroom to freshen up, I carefully made my way down the stairs and into my kitchen.

"Ahh, Tsu-chan!" Nana walked over to me smiling, her hands full with my breakfast. Putting down the plates, my mother leaned over to gently smooth down my new uniform.

Yup. You heard that right. I was now six, in my new sailor fuku and ready for my first day of wonderful school.

 _School_.

Grade one, to be more exact.

. . .

I almost couldn't keep in my own tears when I realized I had to go through good ole' school again.

* * *

 "I wish my school days could have dragged on a little longer, or that I could go back and do it later in life."

― Cara Delevingne

"Well, I don't! So why am I here again?!"

― Me

* * *

 "Is Tsu-chan ready?" Nana asked sweetly as she somehow hustled me through the crowd of crying kids and toward the front door. All around me, little kids were clinging onto their parents and pleading for them to not go. In fact, some boy in the corner (is that _Mochida_?) was starting to full-on wail.

Wincing at the chorus of high-pitched sobs, I gave my mother a big smile. "Yes, Mama!"

Nana beamed back, obviously relieved that her child wasn't making a big fuss like the others. As the school bell rang, a teacher, one of those people who had a constant smile pasted to her face, started skilfully prying clingy children away from their guardians before ushering them to the door.

"Come on class! We have lots to do today~" The woman smiled brightly. Black hair was pulled into a high ponytail and sparkling amber eyes beamed. The worried parents were no match for the pretty and surprisingly childish-looking teacher.

I was almost impressed at her level of efficiency. I would be too if at least three kids hadn't switched to clinging onto the pretty teacher instead.

Waving one last cheery goodbye to my mother, I followed my new class into the school. Thankfully, our classroom was right beside the staircase that led to the exit. Since that was the case even I, the one with absolutely no sense of direction, probably won't get lost, right?

As I was the first kid in line, due to Nana's amazing crowd skirting technique (which I seriously needed to learn), I was obviously the first to get into the classroom. Strolling in happily, I plopped myself down in the nearest chair and patiently waited for my teacher to finish guiding the distraught children to a seat.

"Ahahaha, thanks teach!"

"Yes, thank you very much!"

"Tch, so many monkeys . . ."

". . ."

That was the first time I wondered about the existence of fate.

Why?

Because if it existed, it obviously liked making me struggle. Seated at my table was a chibi Takeshi, a chibi Kyoko, and to top it all off, a chibi Hana.

Can you really call that a coincidence?

Takeshi looked absolutely _adorable_ , though I was clearly biased toward Tsuna's Guardians. His black hair stuck out in all directions, similar to how mine would be if it was cut in a boy's style. With his big, doe brown eyes and chubby cheeks, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from squealing.

Kyoko looked as cute as I remembered too. Her hair was cut short, and they were put up in two pigtails with the help of some pretty bows. She was smiling brightly, with small dimples showing on each side of her cheek.

Hana, on the other hand, was already resembling her older self. There was a furrow on her forehead as she frowned, obviously unimpressed with the state of her many classmates. Pale, thin lips were pulled into a currently cute scowl, and she pointedly turned away from everyone before sticking her nose into a book.

Clapping her hands, the teacher stood in the front of the class and gave everyone another bright smile. Okay, now I was quite impressed. Despite all the grubby children who had clung to her, she didn't have a single hair out of place!

"Welcome to grade one, everyone! You may call me Kaishi-sensei . . ."

I drifted off, paying attention with only one ear as the teacher started up classmate introductions. It was nothing too hard; just your name, your likes, your dislikes, and what you hoped to be when you grew up. I didn't pay much attention to most of my classmates because none were too interesting. In fact, most were still sniffling and crying.

And then we got to my table. I perked up in slight curiosity.

Hana was the first up. The annoyed girl stood up with a long-suffering look on her face as she crossed her arms and glared at the crying kids in the class.

"Hmph, my name is Kurokawa Hana. I like reading and I dislike children," cue look of disgust as she eyed everyone. "I want to grow up to be a strong woman."

Kaishi-sensei smiled sweetly even as some boys cowered from Hana's glare. The dark haired girl sat down with a huff as Kyoko got up after her.

"Hello! My name is Sasagawa Kyoko. I like cooking and I don't like. . ." Kyoko frowned cutely. "I don't like it when Onii-chan gets hurt! Hmm, I don't know what I want to be in the future," the girl admitted as she smiled and sat down once more.

And then it was my future Guardian's turn. Now, this was something I wanted to hear. The very least I could do is to give my full attention to the boy who would later protect me with his life. . .

Takeshi stood up with a big smile. I eyed it contemplatively. At this age he was still truly happy, right?

"Hey! I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. I really like baseball and sushi, and I don't like math! Ahahaha, in the future . . . I want to become a baseball player!"

Blinking at the unexpected guilt that welled up in my chest, I hid my frown behind a hand as the boy sat down. That's right. Takeshi wanted to become a professional baseball player, and Tsuna was the one who made him lose his dream. Did I have a right to make him my Rain Guardian again? I had a chance to make sure that something like that would never happen . . . but . . . should I change things?

"Sawada-chan?" The teacher prompted gently. Curbing my urge to jump up in surprise, I got up carefully before beaming a sweet smile at the class.

"Hello. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna. I like playing the violin and I dislike it when my family is unhappy."

Chewing on my lip, I cocked my head and pondered my next words. I wasn't going to have a future I'd like, unless this was an universe in which Tsuna didn't become Vongola Decimo. Even then, with my stupid father as the CEDEF boss, I didn't really think I'll be lucky enough to not get sucked into the Mafia. If that was the case . . .

Looking up once more, I gave everyone a wistful smile. "In the future, I want to be happy."

* * *

School days passed in a flash, for the most part. Despite the fact that both Kyoko and Takeshi sat at my table, I never really got a chance to talk to them. The baseball lover was always enthusiastically dragged off by the other boys in the class, while Kyoko was pulled into flower-crown making with the girls. Most of the time, it left me with Hana, who spent all her recesses holed up with a book.

Before long, I started bringing books to school myself, but ones in English. Luckily, though my Japanese was pretty awful and barely passable, my English was still top notch. I got a few curious looks from Hana, but she never asked me any questions. Because I didn't want to seem too out of place, I only brought a thin chapter book for each day. If I managed to finish it early, I would amuse myself by trying to translate the English book into Japanese . . .

My days faded into monotony. And just like that, a few months passed. My life wasn't bad, to be honest, and I was slowly on my way in becoming tentative friends with grouchy Hana. Probably helped that I was mature enough for her standards.

It was nice. I felt happy.

And then fate decided that she needed some more excitement by wreaking havoc in my life.

One day, I saw an advertisement as I walked home from school. Blinking at the pictures of musicians in confusion, I puzzled out the kanji before I realized that it was advertising a contest.

To be more specific, it was advertising a _music_ contest taking place in _Italy_.

It had been years since my . . . _father_ had last visited when I was three. Heck, it had been months since his last letter! And it wasn't even much of a letter, just a postcard with a picture of him and the penguins.

Honestly, who does the man think he'd convince? Maybe my oblivious mother, but certainly not me!

By that point, I've already spent months listening to my mother cry in her bedroom at night. No, _years_. But despite her less than stellar sleep, the poor woman would still get up bright and early for me, and would still grace me with a loving smile.

Nana was not my mother, but I still loved her.

And that was exactly why I tore down the piece of paper before scurrying home. I was a good child, and I knew my mother had a bank account with a lot of money saved up. A little trip to another country wouldn't even put a dent in it.

My eyes darkened as I read the rest of the advertisement. Apparently, one of the contest's guests was Vongola Nono and the CEDEF head.

.

.

.

I smiled.

Because after all, if by some miraculous chance Nana meets her _construction worker_ husband at my contest, well, _I_ certainly wasn't the one who planned for it.

* * *

Okay. Haha.

. . .

I may be a bit over my head in this.

Like I had predicted, Nana was totally up for a trip into beautiful Italy. It didn't take much to convince her at all, mostly because the contest was smack in between my six-week-long summer break. I didn't have to miss even a day of school.

After much pondering, I signed up for the strings competition with two of my unaccompanied pieces, Paganini's Caprice No. 16 and Caprice No. 20. Looking for a pianist who would be willing to accompany me to Italy was a bit far-fetched, after all.

In addition, after debating it for a while, I also signed up for the piano competition with Fur Elise. Though I was not good at piano, that had been my mother's, my _real_ mother's, favourite piece. The same mother who's birthday was coming up near the contest days.

I smiled bitterly. My gift to her. Maybe she would hear me playing in her dreams.

Before long, my break started and we were packed and boarding a plane. It was only until we were two hours into the flight did I realize something crucial.

Oh my gosh. Why was Vongola Nono at a music contest anyway? I know it was a pretty prestigious contest, but still. Don't tell me it was a contest for Mafioso kids or something.

. . .

Biting my lower lip, I curled into my seat and tried not to groan. As the main character, I probably won't die before we got to the canon story, right?

I eyed my beaming mother, who looked the happiest I've seen her all year.

. . .

Screw crazy Mafia boys. Nana was going to stay happy even if it killed me.

* * *

"Tunafishy?! N- _Nana_?!" A burly blond man gaped in surprise, even as Vongola Nono stood up to make his way over.

"Ah, dear!" My mother, if anything, smiled even brighter. "I didn't think you'd be here!"

Iemitsu spluttered. Turning my head to inspect my violin, I tried to hide my smug grin as Nono bent down to face me.

My stupid sperm-donor got what he deserved. I would be lying if I said I didn't relish the look of pure bafflement on Iemitsu's face.

"Hello there, Tsunayoshi," Nono said with a grandfatherly smile. "What brings you here today?"

Giving the old man a smile, I held up the Performer's Ticket the main desk gave to me. "I'm a contestant!"

Nono's forehead furrowed. Deciding to give the nice man a break, I started to explain.

"I was walking home from school when I found an advertisement for this contest! I've been practising very hard so I wanted to join and Mama agreed!"

Nono blinked before smiling gently. "I see. Then I'll look forward to your performance, Tsunayoshi. There's someone I'd like to introduce to you when you're finished."

I tilted my head in confusion. Nono wanted to introduce someone to me?

The speakers suddenly cracked and a monotone voice spoke. "All contestants, please proceed to the front row. All contestants, please proceed to the front row."

Blanching, I threw what Nono told me out of my mind as I hurriedly took out my violin, bow, and my shoulder rest. Securing the shoulder rest to the back of my instrument, I gave the bemused Mafia Don a backwards wave as I hurried to the front, careful to not trip over my elevated shoes.

The contest wasn't as formal as I thought it'll be. In fact, it was like the music festivals I used to attend in my old life, except for more people watching. The contestants were seating in the front row, and the announcer would call up each person who would make their way to the stage. When they were finished performing, they would bow and go back to their seat, while everyone would wait in silence for the three adjudicators to finish taking notes. When they were done, the announcer called up the next performer and the cycle would repeat.

Apparently, the music contest spanned over several days with all its different disciplines. The only people playing at for the next few hours were the pianists under ten years of age and the strings under fourteen.

Slightly bored, I fiddled with my bow, tightening and loosening the hairs as I waited for my turn. The pianists were all up first, and though I used to play piano, I hadn't been very good at all. So for me, all the kids who were playing sounded quite similar in terms of skill level.

There also seemed to be a wide range of ages, from a four year old to a ten year old, unlike the strings section. In my side of the room (I had debated whether I should sit in the piano section since they were going first, but gave up when I realized that they had less space. I needed to put my violin down, after all), the youngest seemed to be me. Everyone else looked at least ten.

"Up next is Hayato Gokudera, six years old. He will be playing Consolation No. 2 by Liszt."

I froze. Head snapping up, I stared in shock as a pale boy stepped up, scowl permanently secured to his face as he sat down on the piano bench.

With silver hair and expressive green eyes, this was him all right. Tsuna's Storm and right hand. My future Guardian.

What were the chances that I'll meet him here?

Hayato breathed in deeply before placing his hands on the keyboard. And then his hands started dancing.

It was beautiful. There were no other words to describe it. Soft and dreamy, I felt as if I was floating on a cloud. The sweet melodies felt exactly like something the pretty lady I could vaguely remember as Hayato's mother would play. Unfortunately, it was all over too soon, and everyone was immediately plunged into stunned silence.

Hayato looked annoyed at the gob-smacked audience and bowed stiffly before settling down. The adjudicators were writing furiously and all the other pianist contestants began to shift nervously. I could guess why.

I was the last contestant for the piano section, and everyone had already went. There was no one who had played as beautifully as Hayato, despite many being years older. Even I wouldn't. Though I was quite decent at Fur Elise, it was a much easier piece that Hayato's Consolation.

"Thank you Hayato Gokudera. Up next is Tsunayoshi Sawada, six years old. She will be playing Fur Elise by Beethoven."

And that was my cue. Placing down my violin gently, I quickly made my way from the strings section whilst ignoring the voices that followed me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Iemitsu confusedly asking Nana something, probably why I was playing the piano.

To be fair, it was a good question. I'm sure his spies had told him that I showed absolutely no interest in the keyboard instrument.

Breathing in softly, I sat down at the piano bench and stared at my hands. In my old life, I use to have a terrible case of stage fright. And it only applied to when I played an instrument too. Ask me to give a speech in front of my class? Sure! I can wing it. Ask me to stand up and play a violin piece I've been working on for months? I'll come down with an awful case of nerves.

But now. Now, though there was still a faint trace of tingling in my limbs, I was not afraid. How could I be, after I was reincarnated into an anime?

I breathed. And then I played.

The tinkling of the first notes of Fur Elise calmed me down with its familiarity as I closed my eyes and let my hands do the rest of the work.

Even if this was an anime world, at least the music was still the same.

Finishing my second repeat, I mentally prepared myself for the running notes I would be soon playing. One of the biggest reasons I disliked piano was because of my own faults.

I had a lot of problems when it came to piano playing. Instead of using the tips of my fingers, I'll use the whole top part, making my fingers look as if they were splayed on the keyboard. It greatly reduced my agility. And if that wasn't all, my pinkies had almost no strength. Many times when I used it, the note would come out as just a whisper.

My piano teacher said it was something many violinists do, especially if they tried learning piano years after they've been playing violin.

Breathing out slowly as I brought myself back to the main theme, I played the last part of Fur Elise as tenderly as possible. I thought about my real mother, my real father, my friends, my music teachers . . .

And then I was done, with the last triple A rippling into the air. Standing up slowly and bowing, I smiled at the audience and made my way back to my violin.

Hayato's surprised eyes did not leave my body until I was out of sight.

* * *

And next was the strings competition. It seemed like the judges were going to announce winners at the end of the day, before holding an Awards Ceremony after all the different sections were finished.

Biting my lower lip, I waited impatiently as every person went up to play. There were a few Mozart Sonata's, a few easier sections of Bach's Partitas and Sonatas, and even Rachmaninoff's beautiful Vocalise!

I probably would have picked Rachmaninoff's Vocalise myself if I had a pianist. And if this competition wasn't as prestigious. My first choice for this competition would probably be Mozart's Rondo. It was a pretty technical piece, but it also showed vigour and was generally one of my favourites! There wasn't even any difficult parts to correspond with the pianist. As long as the pianist knew their part, we would be good.

"Up next is Tsunayoshi Sawada, six years old. She will be playing . . . Paganini's Caprices 16 and 20."

A wave of surprised muttering went through the crowd. I mentally raised an eyebrow. Did the monotonous announcer actually pause when they read exactly what pieces I was playing?

Then again, I was six and playing _Paganini_. That was about two levels higher than what Hayato had played, and he was considered a piano genius.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts (because teacher-level or not Paganini was not something you could play half-heartedly), I made my way to the stage. Immediately, green eyes peeked up from the piano section. Slightly amused, I gave him a beaming smile as I bowed with my violin tucked under my armpit.

Closing my eyes, I slid the wooden instrument and held it firmly with my chin. And then, with a deep breath, I played.

Caprice 16 was a flurry of notes, my left hand flying across the neck of the instrument from first position. String crossing also happened (if you don't know what it was, just know that it was a bitch), and all too soon it was finished. Taking another deep breath to steady myself, Caprice 20 began at a much slower speed than Caprice 16.

Until it got to the chords. And then it sped up, with double stops and all that fun stuff. And I say that sarcastically.

It wasn't long before I was done. Opening my eyes hesitantly, I was greeted with a collectively stunned audience. Honestly, that wasn't even my best performance. My violin, only a half size, was no where good enough to make the high notes ring out beautifully. The double stops and chords even felt squeaky to me!

Feeling slightly bemused at the dropped jaws ―it was like Hayato's performance all over again!― I bowed and made my way off stage, making sure to catch a surprised silver-haired boy's eyes as I left.

* * *

The next classes for the day started ―Pianists age 10-18 and violinists age 14+― and we were released. First, I was crushed in an overbearing hug from a crying and stupid daddy.

"D-Dad! Let go!" I cried, voice half smothered by the fancy suit he was wearing. I do wish I didn't miss how he had managed to make my mother buy his explanation of why a construction worker like him needed such an expensive suit.

My sperm-donor bawled. "My tunafishy is a violin geniussss! Daddy is so proud!"

Kicking him a few times finally made the stupid man release me. Huffing in precious air, I turned around just in time to see Nono walk up to me with a bright smile.

"Amazing job, Tsunayoshi. That was very impressive," the man praised. I felt my cheeks grow warm as I looked down modestly.

"Thank you," I shyly murmured, fidgeting with my violin case. The man sounded very sincere, and I always felt embarrassed when people praised me for my music.

"Tch," someone spoke up in front of me. "I guess her playing was decent."

I blinked. I did not know this voice, but it sounded slightly familiar . . .

Nono sighed exasperatedly. Gulping, I looked up and was immediately frozen to my place at the sight of a tall male who held my gaze with glaring eyes.

. . .

Let me rephrase that. Glaring _red_ eyes.

. . .

I wanted to cry. The Varia Leader didn't seem like someone who would like classical musical!

So, why did I meet _Xanxus_ here?!

* * *

**Chapter II End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> In my country, Consolation No. 2 is a grade 9 piano piece. Fur Elise is a grade 7 piano piece. You can listen to Consolation No. 2 on Youtube! There's a video by Lang Lang and it is very beautiful.
> 
> Movements from Bach's Partitas become mandatory after grade 7 violin. Rachmaninoff's Vocalise is a grade 8 violin piece. Mozart's Rondo is a grade 10 violin piece. Paganini's Caprices is the teacher's level pieces, the grade after level 10 violin.
> 
> Double stops are basically chords, but for violin. String crossing is what is sounds like, crossing strings on the violin rapidly.


	3. In Which The Main Character Is Screwed By Fate

I fidgeted on my spot as I hugged my violin case to my chest. Peeking out from behind my mother's legs, I watched in bafflement as the Vongola Don effectively charmed my mother in front of her own husband.

And my no-good father did nothing to stop him!

"Really, Mrs. Sawada," Nono said with a sincere gaze. "You can stay with us during your stay here. I'm sure Iemitsu will love your company."

My father looked like he was both overjoyed and upset at the same time. Before he could even get in a word, Nana turned to look at him with sparkling eyes.

"Is that true, dear?" My mother beamed, bringing flowers and sparkles into existence. Iemitsu gulped and shot Nono a beseeching look even as he smiled cheerily back.

Ha. Stupid father. Serves him right. "Of course honey!" The blonde idiot exclaimed. Nana squealed in delight as she launched herself at her husband. Left eye twitching, I mentally gagged at the sheer feel of lovey-dovey in the air. A quick look upwards showed Xanxus doing the same thing.

Xanxus. Now, wasn't he a surprise? Okay, so, seeing Hayato here was something I could understand. I mean, Hayato was amazing at the piano and therefore would most likely sign up for music competitions. Plus, I could vaguely remember Hayato running away a couple of years later to become the 'Smoking Bomb', so obviously he'll still be under his father's guidance when he was six. But Xanxus. What the heck was _Xanxus_ doing here?

"Brat, what are you looking at?"

 _Eeeep_! I jolted in surprise before coming back to my senses. Belatedly, I realized that I had zoned out while staring at the scary teen. Needless to say, my face turned a bright shade of red from both embarrassment and fear.

"N-Nothing! Sorry!" I yelped quietly as I bemoaned the fact that my shield, er, my mother had left me out in the open while she was too busy making out with my father. Now I had nothing to hide behind and had to actually respond to anyone talking to me.

For example, in this case, that 'anyone' was Xanxus.

. . .

How does one interact with Xanxus again?!

Someone chuckled, forcing me out of my turbulent thoughts once again. I turned toward them stiffly, ready to give them a fierce tongue lashing since they seemed so amused by my pain, when all my intentions stopped dead at the sight of crinkling and gentle eyes.

"Tsunayoshi," Vongola Nono said with a smile. "You don't have to be so nervous. My youngest won't bite, I promise."

Xanxus snorted at the words as I smiled at Nono whilst screaming internally. Yes, of course _Xanxus_ won't bite me, that was more of a Hibari thing! What Xanxus _would_ do was shoot me to death with his X-Guns before laughing and dancing on my corpse!

Thankfully, I was saved from making a polite response when Iemitsu grinned and waved us over as he kissed Nana's cheek. "Our ride has arrived!" After that, the man moved briskly outside with my mother, both giggling like newly-weds on their honeymoon. Following after them sedately, I blinked in surprise at the extravagant limousine in front of the building and peered inside.

Both my parents had already claimed the two right seats. Nono also got in slowly, claiming the whole left side. That meant I was left to sit beside―

Xanxus grinned, looking particularly blood-thirsty as he shoved me into the back seats. I swallowed a whimper and a squeak as the tall teen then proceeded to _sit right beside me_.

Oh no. This was going to be one long ride―

* * *

"A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is - full of surprises."

― Isaac Bashevis Singer

"My life is now a story . . . please tell me that my life won't have double the surprises now. I don't want to have a heart attack and die from shock when I'm still a kid!"

― Me

* * *

 ―Not.

. . .

Jeez, this trip has been nothing but one surprise after another.

"You like classical music?" I asked in stupefaction. Because really, though I wasn't really stereotypical or anything, with Xanxus' personality I would have thought that the boy liked heavier music, if he liked music at all!

Xanxus grunted as his ears turned a bit pink. I stifled a giggle before it killed me via angry-Xanxus.

"Tch, it's more decent than rap or rock," The older boy replied as he then proceeded to glare at me as if I would refute his claim.

Trying to swallow my snort, I smiled happily. "Oh! Then, what kind of classical music do you like?"

I could see Nono staring at us as if we were a television drama. He had a growing smile on his face as he probably listened in on our conversation. For some reason, that smile on the Vongola Don's face made me shiver.

"Hmph," Xanxus shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "Strings are the most decent."

My smile grew wider, even as a clearly masochist part of me cooed at the cuteness that was Xanxus. Because, haha, was he unable to praise anyone? Rating them on a scale of terrible to decent? Did that mean that the teen was impressed by my performance before?

Well, at least now I know why Xanxus had been accompanying Nono and my father to the music competitions . . .

"Really?! What composers?"

Sensing that Xanxus may have reached his word quota for the hour, I decided to answer my question myself and started to ramble.

"I really like Rachmaninoff and Paganini's works! Bach is okay, but his Partitas drive me nuts. Mozart is also nice, but I really don't like his Sonatas."

Xanxus blinked as his eyebrow rose. I grinned a bit more sheepishly.

"Mozart's Sonatas are all really easy to play technically, but I, uh, kind of find them a bit boring? His Rondo is really fun though!"

Xanxus blinked again before snorting. He relaxed against the velvet seat of the limousine as he eyed me contemplatively. I gave him a beaming smile.

Hey, I had a right to be happy! It's been ten minutes since I was stuck in a small place with Xanxus of all people, and he hasn't killed me yet! It was a miracle!

* * *

"WHAT?"

. . .

Never-mind, I totally take everything back. This was not a miracle, it was a disaster in disguise.

Was this all retribution for trying to one-up Iemistu? Is some higher being up there angry that I tried to reunite my parents? Were they supposed to be some case of star-crossed lovers or something?

Vongola Nono smiled disarmingly as he reached over to pat my frozen head. "Come, Xanxus. Tsunayoshi would only be staying for a few days. I'm sure she could tag along with you during that time."

Xanxus gaped widely as I choked on my own saliva. The older teen spluttered slightly before forcing out a growl.

His next words were spoken in Italian. I almost jumped at the sudden language barrier; I had forgotten we were in Italy since everyone had only been speaking Japanese or English (at the music competition).

"Vuoi che prendere marmocchio di Iemistu e avere il suo uscire con Varia ? Varia, l'assassinio di Vongola―"

Nono cut him off with a loud laugh while I paled even further. I might not have understood a single word, but I did hear the word 'Varia' and could thus make an educated guess on what Xanxus was so incensed about.

"Xanxus," Nono said, and this time I could hear an underlying hint of steel in his tone. Obviously Xanxus could too, considering how he had immediately shut up. "I'm sure Varia won't mind."

"Anyway," Nono continued, his tone lightening when he saw that all the protests had stopped. "Iemitsu would be happy you took her off his hands since he'll be spending most of his time with his wife in their bedroom."

Xanxus looked more horrified at that, and any anger from before melted away. I blinked twice, kind of confused at what Nono was implying. Of course my parents would want to spend every single second together, but why would they want to do that in their bedroom? Shouldn't my father bring Nana sightseeing?

"Tsk," Xanxus said, sounding resigned. "Fine, I'll do it. No one should see Iemitsu do . . . _that_ , even if it is his brat."

I cocked my head to the side. Huh? Why did Xanxus agree so easily? Did I miss something? 

* * *

I was starting to really hate language barriers.

Why couldn't this be the American Mafia or something? Why did they have to speak Italian? Not English, the universal language mind you, or even Chinese, or even French? Urgh, why the language I had absolutely no idea how to speak?

"Ahh, lei è così carino!" A cute boy with shoulder-length green hair and pretty doe eyes cooed over me. I blinked twice, having no idea what he had just said.

"Voiiii, capo di merda, che è un ragazzo facendo qui!?" This time it was a boy with short silver hair. He kind of reminded me of Hayato, and it was only thanks to his very loud voice did I realize this was Squalo.

Xanxus growled, looking none too happy as his left eye twitched. I winced at the hard tone of his voice and discreetly backed away. "Tacere e passare alla Giapponese . . . E non dire niente di stupido, lei è un civile."

Everyone in the room blinked, before nodding. The boy with the green hair gave me a smile.

"Hello, dearie!" He said as I blinked, slightly startled. Really, did everyone here knew how to speak Japanese? Sure, they had an accent, but they were probably more fluent in Japanese than me! "My name is is Lussuria~"

. . .

Waittttt. Brain freeze.

This cute guy was Lussuria?

. . .

Wow. Time really could change people.

"Hi," I said with a small smile as my mind rebooted from the shock. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna!"

Lussuria cooed over me again. "Aww, Tsu-chan, you're so cute!" I . . . tried to not let my despair show on my face as I pouted. How the hell did Lussuria know the embarrassing nickname my mother uses?

Squalo grunted. "Name's Squalo, squirt."

"GET AWAY FROM BOSS―" A big and buff guy beside him screeched. Squalo didn't even bat an eye as he continued to introduce everybody.

"―The stupid screaming guy is Levi. The blond brat only a bit older than you is Bel―"

"I'm a prince!" Bel piped up and I desperately tried to not smile at the cute pre-puberty voice of the tiny Storm. Bel looked _cute_ , in a slightly creepy way.

"―And the purple baby behind you is Mammon." Squalo finished. I blinked in surprise before I whipped around.

True to Squalo's word, a tiny and _adorable_ baby was really behind me. I blinked twice at the cuteness (though Mammon wasn't as cute as Reborn in my opinion), before smiling sweetly.

"How do babies float?"

Every paused at my question, looking startled. And then Xanxus started guffawing as Squalo slapped his hand onto his face and groaned.

. . .

I tried to not look exasperated.

Really, how could these idiots be elite assassins? They can't even keep up a simple disguise around civilians!

* * *

"Steak is yummy," I agreed as I kicked my feet back and forth. "Mama makes the best steak."

Xanxus smirked, shooting a gleeful look at Squalo.

"Aww," Lussuria said as he held up the menu. "Then I guess we're having steak tonight?"

To my surprise, the Varia wasn't at all like the completely bloodthirsty villains the Katekyo Hitman Reborn fandom portrayed them as. Yes, they sometimes threw pointy weapons at each other ('discreetly' since I was there) and yes they swore worst than any drunk sailor. But still, they worried about each other and they helped each other.

If anything, they were like a dysfunctional family. And that really changed my whole perspective of the Ring Battle Arc.

Bel pouted. "Can't we have something else? Ushishishishi, sushi is nice too, right? Tsu-chan, don't you miss Japanese dishes?"

Spending a few days with the Varia was not as scary as I had originally thought it to be. Like what Nono said, after my father threw a short temper tantrum about giving me to 'brutes', he didn't make any more fuss and basically carted me to what must have been the Varia base. Heck, I haven't seen my parents at all since then! In fact, I saw Nono more than I saw them!

So, bored and becoming slightly immune to the Varia's craziness, I started to talk to each of the members to pass time. It was actually pretty fun. The Varia told good stories, if you let the blood and gore descriptions fly over your head. Plus, they were all nice in their own ways, and were quite protective of me for some reason. Maybe because they were essentially my bodyguards?

So yeah. Being manhandled at Varia headquarters wasn't as scary as those fanfics I use to read made them out to be. In fact, the scariest thing that had happened in their presence was probably the fact that most of them had taken to calling me by Tsu-chan! Urgh, even Xanxus called me that (patronizingly) whenever he wanted to call me something other than 'mini trash' or 'brat'!

"Hmph," Mammon said as . . . er, he? she? . . . they took a look at the menu. "I agree with sushi, it's much cheaper than steak."

It was actually a bit disappointing to know that my vacation was coming to an end. The Awards Ceremony for my music competition was tomorrow and after that, my mother and I had our flight back to Japan.

"Dumplings look good too~" Lussuria said.

. . . Truth to be told, I was going to miss the Varia a lot. I had a lot of fun in the past week, the most since I've been reborn into Reborn (ahaha, pun intended). In addition, all the Varia members also grew on me a little. It didn't help that they all acted like big brothers to me, or like that crazy but beloved uncle.

". . .u-chan?"

I blinked twice, startled out of my thoughts. It was then did I realize that the whole table was staring at me.

"Oh, sorry!" I yelped, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Sushi is fine too; I don't really mind what we're having for dinner."

". . ." The Varia exchanged glances. I blinked. Were we not talking about our dinner choices?

Lussuria was the one who spoke up upon noticing my confusion. "Tsu-chan, we were asking when your plane leaves tomorrow."

. . .

Oh.

"Erm," I grinned sheepishly as I sorted through my thoughts. "I think it was eleven at night?"

Bel laughed and played with his cutlery. "Why do you sound so glum, principessa?"

I pouted. Bel was only a bit older than me, so in the few days together I got to know him the best. But really, the boy didn't have to call me out like that! Couldn't he have at least pretended that he didn't hear my admittedly pathetic lie?

". . . Well, I was thinking about how I'm going to miss you all," I said truthfully, blinking at the surprised looks. "I mean, sure, you guys are scary, scary oafs, but you're all awesome too."

. . .

Everyone around me blinked, slowly digesting my words. I felt a rush of fondness when all the boys started to laugh.

Xanxus grinned, bloodthirsty and wild. "Hah! Scary oafs? We'll take that as a compliment."

* * *

I walked out carefully on the high heels my mother forced me into. My hair was pulled up cutely and I was wearing a pretty white dress.

Haha, is it funny that I didn't wear anything formal to my performance but now looked like I was going to a wedding? My parents don't even know if I was going to win anything!

Sitting down at the front row, I sighed softly as I let my thoughts wonder. It was going to be quite boring, once I made my way back home. No funny and trigger happy guys throwing knives around. No exotic foods and cutlery.

"Welcome to our Awards Ceremony! We will begin in approximately fifteen minutes."

And no more listening to English. Ugh.

"Posso sedermi qui?"

I blinked, surprised, before looking up into a beautiful shade of green. My brain froze and it took everything I had to not gape.

Cute and chibi Gokudera Hayato stood before me, scowling slightly and looking increasingly nervous. He was wearing an adorable mini tuxedo, and his hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. All in all, he looked completely endearing.

Hayato fidgeted a bit more and I belatedly realized that the boy asked me a question.

. . .

In Italian.

. . .

I reddened and spluttered in a mixture of Japanese and broken English.

"Ermm, ahh, uh, I, um, don't speak?"

Luckily for me, Hayato's eyes lit up in understanding, and the boy immediately repeated his question in accented Japanese.

"I asked, can I sit here?"

Startled again (really, does _everyone_ in Italy know how to speak Japanese?!), I nodded dazedly in reply. Hayato relaxed slightly before sitting down.

"You . . . know Japanese?" I asked softly in surprise.

Hayato blinked, looking surprised before his pale lips pressed together into a thin line. "Er, my old piano teacher use to speak it. She taught me."

"Oh," I said, trying not to wince at the mention of Hayato's dead mother. "That's cool. So, um . . ."

Hayato looked down quietly before he glanced at me, his face a bit flushed. I blinked worriedly.

"Erm, are you okay?" I asked, eyeing the Italian's face carefully. Hayato jerked before nodding stiffly.

"It's just, er," The silver-haired pianist gave me an awkward look. "You played really well."

I blinked, surprised at the compliment, before giving him a smile. "Thanks! You too, I absolutely love your rendition of Consolation!"

"Ah, thanks," Hayato replied, looking a bit surprised himself. I smiled again.

This Hayato was nothing like the Hayato that was portrayed in the manga and anime. This Hayato was not hotheaded, and did not yell praises for his boss. This Hayato did not scowl too heavily and did not go through cigarettes like they were going extinct. This Hayato . . .

Pausing slightly, my smile became flat. This Hayato was just another innocent six year old child. And just like with Takeshi, this Hayato must have a dream, right? Maybe this Hayato wanted to become a pianist like his mother. Did I have the right to make him my Storm Guardian again, when I could have done something to change it?

"Hello?"

I blinked and jerked up, startled. Hayato looked a bit confused. "Are _you_ alright?"

"Oh, sorry, drifted off there," I said with a small and forced laugh. "Nothing's wrong."

Green eyes narrowed at me, and my smile faltered. Did he see through my mask? That was not fair, I was the one who was supposed to have Hyper Intuition here!

Luckily, before Hayato could say anything, a person stepped up to the microphone and tapped it. I held back a sigh of relief as the boy beside me seemed to stop scrutinizing me sand started to pay attention to the stage.

"Thank you for the wait, we will now begin the Awards Ceremony. If your name is called, please proceed up the stairs and to the stage . . ."

* * *

"In first place, for class Pianists Under Ten, is Hayato Gokudera! In second place is Tsunayoshi Sawada! In third place is . . ."

The crowd clapped politely as I blinked twice in surprise. I placed for _piano_? Wow, that was a first. Muttering a quiet 'congrats' to Hayato and receiving one back, we both made our way to the stage.

Turns out the winner for first place for any piano class was awarded a grand piano. Hayato didn't seem too impressed as I held back an envious sigh. Since I only got second place, I was only awarded a cheque.

"In first place, for Strings Under Fourteen, is Tsunayoshi Sawada!" I blinked in surprise at hearing my name again. Making my way back to where the many judges for each discipline sat, I bowed slightly.

"Congratulations, Tsunayoshi," A pretty lady with long black hair said. I nodded with a smile, not even wincing at how she had totally mangled my first name.

"Yes, your technical prowess is very exceptional," another judge took over. I nodded and looked over the notes they had written for my performance, and before long the last judge pulled out my prize.

Which happened to be . . . a violin?

I blinked in baffled surprise as I was handed a violin case, a full size one. Opening it at the impatient gesture of the first judge, I gasped in surprise at the delicate looking instrument that lay inside. Even without actually playing it, just plucking the strings and touching the thin neck told me that this violin was quite expensive.

"It was made in Germany," the second judge said with an approving smile. "About one hundred and fifty years old. It has a very beautiful tone."

"T-Thank you," I said, quite shocked. This was an amazing prize. The little music shop in Namimori didn't seem to carry instruments of this calibre, so something like this was absolutely perfect!

. . . Nevermind the fact that I couldn't play it right now. Ugh, I needed to grow taller already!

The judges helped me pack up the instrument and promised to give it to my parents. Feeling extremely pleased, I walked back to my place on the stage with a slight bounce in my steps.

* * *

"Is Chopin fun to play?"

Hayato paused and cocked his head, green eyes narrowed in thought. ". . . I think Liszt is better."

"Hmm, I see," I hummed.

I made small talk with Hayato as we waited for the winners to be all announced. It felt quite surreal to be talking to the cute silver-haired boy; my future _Guardian_. Of course, I still didn't know how this universe was going to pan out and if it would stay true to canon, but it felt weird talking to the fictional characters you've once obsessed over.

When the excitement and continuous clapping finally quieted down, the winners were each ushered backstage, where our families were apparently waiting for us. Since he was called up before me, Hayato was the one who left first and after his back disappeared behind the red curtains another employee led me over as well. Following Hayato's path, I blinked my eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting on the other side and almost jumped in surprise at the sight of my family.

Of course, Nana and Iemitsu stood there with a smile, my mother holding the violin that I had won. Nono was there as well, and to my surprise both Xanxus and Squalo stood behind him, both with wide grins. Hayato was already beside a slightly older girl with reddish pink hair ―was that Bianchi?― and an older man. The silverette was looking over at Nono in slight wonder.

I smiled happily at the proud aura that practically radiated off of my family. I hadn't thought that Xanxus and Squalo would come to see me off. In fact, I wasn't even that sure that my parents would have made it, seeing as they did not check up on me for days. Squashing down both the joy that had bubbled up in my chest, I started making my way down the stairs―

"Ah―HIEEEEEEEEEE!"

―And that was where everything went wrong. Where my beginning became my end.

I stumbled slightly halfway down, unused to my high heels and not as focused on walking properly due to my euphoria. Everything slowed down as I saw the sharp edges of the ceramic stairs rush up to meet my face as I tilted over the edge, my head falling to the ground at what was probably a pretty bad angle.

It was almost funny. My mother from my past life always told me to hold the railing when I walked down stairs. I used to be oh-so clumsy, tripping over everything and anything (especially stairs), so I always did as told. But this time . . . I wondered why I didn't listen to her this time.

Detachedly, I watched everyone stare at me in horror, and how everyone jerked forward . . . but I knew they were too far away to break my fall. Screaming incoherently, I saw my death flash through my eyes; hitting my neck against a sharp edge and breaking it, becoming a broken body and losing so much blood . . .

_No._

. . . I didn't want to die here.

_NO._

I-I didn't want to die again.

NO.

I couldn't die here . . . I _wouldn't_ die here.

.

.

.

Something inside me snapped and then I was completely filled with warmth.

.

.

.

.

.

"Tsuna . . ." someone breathed in shakily.

And then I was on the ground at the bottom of the stairs, blinking heavily as I stared at the charred ground.

My white dress was beyond ruined, and my hands were covered in blisters. The room suddenly felt too warm and hot and I could swear I could see heat waves.

But most of all . . . Smoke wafted off my hair like a lover's parfum.

. . . Something happened. And I wasn't too sure what it was.

Looking up slowly, I was met with the sight of a crowd of completely gaping people. Iemitsu stared at me with wide eyes, even as he hugged a shaking Nana's face to his chest ―most likely to try and spare my mother the pain of seeing me fall. Both Xanxus and Squalo looked completely stupefied, and a quick glance to the side showed that Hayato and his family was amazed as well.

But Nono's expression was what caught my attention. The old man looked pained as he stepped forward, and then suddenly he was in front of me, holding a flaming finger to my forehead.

This time, I didn't even get a chance to scream before the darkness completely enveloped me.

* * *

Back then, I had been too caught up in the moment to understand and realize what had happened. It had taken me a few days later to finally piece everything together, and by then, my fate had been set.

Being happy? Hahaha, what a joke. I should have known that I had inherited Vongola Primo's blood and his incredible Hyper Intuition . . . and every single drop of his damnable luck.

* * *

**Chapter III End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> Bach's Partitas are unaccompanied violin pieces, where you are literally playing both the melody and harmony. Phrasing is super important and they are usually a bitch to play.
> 
> Seconded with Paganini's pieces. Super technical and virtuosic.
> 
> Mozart's Sonatas are usually chamber music. This means easy to play pieces that are super hard to coordinate with a accompanist. In addition, Mozart's style is simple and elegant but I can never get it right ugh.


	4. In Which The Main Character Grows Up

_Flames, beautiful and bright orange flames._

_But . . . they were gone now. And now you were left with the empty husk of the fireplace and a pile of ashes._

_Piles of ashes._

. . .

_It was cold._

.

.

.

I woke up at home.

Not the lovely room Italy I had started to love. No, I woke up in my bedroom. In Japan.

In Namimori.

At home.

. . . I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye . . . to the Varia, to Iemitsu, to Nono. Would I even get a chance to contact them again?

. . .

I buried my nose into my blankets and closed my eyes.

* * *

"Ouch," I muttered under my breath, bruises irritating me even as I walked so carefully.

. . . It was awful. Horrid. _Scary_.

If this was what Tsuna ―the _real_ Tsuna― felt when his flames got sealed, then everybody should definitely cut his apparent stupidity some slack. I was already quite surprised and impressed the boy managed to get through his earlier years in one piece.

"Tsu-chan!" Nana gasped when she saw me. Bloody, bruised, pathetic-looking me. Her arms hovered around me anxiously as she took in the numerous wounds and cuts that decorated my small body. "W-What happened?"

I tried not to cry, and instead beamed a sweet smile at my worried mother. "It's alright, Mama. I, um, fell down the stairs."

Already, the other kids around me who were waiting to get picked up started to snicker. I closed my eyes and once again willed myself not to burst into tears.

It was fine. It was fine.

I had been extremely clumsy in my previous life, especially when I was younger. To be honest, I was quite similar to Tsuna in the retrospect. I would fall down every single staircase I ever had the chance to go down, and I would always trip over my own feet. It had taken me years before I could fix my balance to the point I would stop falling every time I went out for a walk.

Of course, the kids in my ( _past_ ) neighbourhood was much nicer. They would fret over me, even if it was a common occurrence to see me fall and hurt myself. They would help you up, find a teacher, fish out and help you put on a band-aid―

. . . They were nothing like the children that surrounded me right now.

I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes.

_It was fine._

I've done this once, I could do it again.

* * *

"You cry and you scream and you stomp your feet and you shout. You say, 'You know what? I'm giving up, I don't care.' And then you go to bed and you wake up and it's a brand new day, and you pick yourself back up again."

― Nicole Scherzinger

"Can I throw a non-stop temper tantrum instead of seeing that brand new day?"

― Me

* * *

Somehow, playing violin became slightly hazardous to my health.

Oh no, don't worry.

It wasn't really the act of playing violin itself. That wasn't dangerous at all. Contrary to some beliefs, the strings don't cut your fingers no matter how hard you press on them. And thankfully, even getting my flames sealed didn't spontaneously change my violin strings into razor-sharp blades.

Despite all that, however . . .

"Eeep!" I yelped and swallowed a curse (somehow, Mama Nana _would_ find out and then she'd wash my mouth out with soap, _literally_ ) when I accidentally knocked over a mug with my bow arm. The poor thing hit the ground and immediately cracked into two, a piece flying over to give my foot a shallow cut.

For some reason, I kept knocking things over! And they kept hurting me! At this rate, playing piano would be ten times safer than playing my violin.

"Tsu-chan!" Nana rushed into the room, probably alerted by the sound of the mug breaking. She took in the situation quickly, sad, gentle eyes lingering on my bloody cut and my teary eyes before she sighed. "It's okay, Tsu-chan."

Like one extremely used to it, she cleaned everything up, my cut disinfected and wrapped in record time. The next day, Nana led me down to the basement ―I didn't even know our house had a basement!― and opened the door to one of the rooms.

A pause.

"Do you like it, Tsu-chan?" Nana asked with a small smile.

.

.

.

I gaped. A piano sat on one side, and a music stand, surrounded by absolutely nothing, stood on the other. I could play anything I want in this room, and I would never knock anything over again.

My eyes started watering at what Nana did for me.

"B-But what happens if I knock over the stand," I asked with a small hiccup, a few tears streaming down my face. Nana only smiled wider, brown eyes filled with tears herself.

"You wouldn't, Tsu-chan! I super-glued the stand to the ground. So play to your heart's content!"

* * *

 . . . I played Adoration by Felix Borowski. Sweet melodies for my lovely and sweet mother . . .

* * *

". . ."

Gibberish.

I stared at my Japanese homework page, horror mounting in my chest at what I saw before me. How could I have not noticed it before? Had I really been that out of it? After all . . .

It was all gibberish.

The Japanese words before me swirled. Some of the more complex characters seem to disappear, and I only knew they were there at all because I could somewhat see them out of the corner of my eye. Other characters blurred over, some stuck together, and others flipped upside down―

With shaking hands, I set down that piece of paper and picked up my book in English. Stomach dropping, I flipped to a random page.

'hTe 4ct netwawaybe ca us e ti swa credsa.'

_All gibberish._

And then I tried not to cry. Because for some reason, I couldn't even read any more. Not one of my lovely books, so full of stories and life. They were locked away from me now.

Still there but. _Gone._

* * *

. . . I sight read a bit of Schindler's List, something heart breaking to properly mourn for my lost . . .

* * *

Everything felt so strange, compared to before The Sealing. Like my surroundings were muted, but I wasn't able to turn everything back on again. It was as though I couldn't find the remote control . . .

Needless to say, it didn't do my already worsening studies any good at all.

Sometimes, I felt like I was walking through rushing water, dragging myself desperately again the raging currents. My limbs felt so heavy at times, and any sounds became completely distorted. Heck, _time_ itself sometimes became distorted.

Hana no longer sat with me at recess, not after that time when I had accidentally spilled my water bottle all over her book. I bought her a new one, but she always stayed away now.

I didn't really mind much, only mourning the friendship that could have been. But it was okay. Hana found her niche with Kyoko, who had long stopped playing with the other ( _meanmeanmean_ ) girls . . . and who would always give me uncomfortable smiles whenever she met my gaze.

I wondered if canon Tsuna knew just how much Kyoko used to try and stay away from him. Perhaps she got better at hiding her feelings behind that blinding smile, but I didn't doubt for a second that even when they were middle school Kyoko disliked Tsuna. Her feelings probably only changed (if at all, because hadn't Kyoko been a Mist?) after that incident with Mochida . . .

I desperately hoped for a new seating plan. The awkward silence at our table made me feel bad, because I just knew it was all my fault. But in the very least, Takeshi still tried talking to me. I used the word 'try' because every time he managed to get out a greeting, he would then be pulled away by his fangirls or his other friends. I never got a chance to ever respond.

. . .

I buried my head into my arms, letting the Kyoko's quiet chatter with Hana wash over me.

Everything felt strange . . . and oh so very lonely.

* * *

. . . Rachmaninoff's lovely Vocalise was next on my list, my crying violin singing my wistfulness . . .

* * *

I rubbed my arms and hugged myself, ignoring the pointing fingers and the judgmental stares.

That was quite normal and really, they had a right to stare.

. . .

I had been prepared for this.

After all, I had stopped wearing the girl's uniform at school, and for once the Disciplinary Committee didn't give me any grief.

How? Well, my mother went in to talk to the principle, after all. Because after The Sealing, I became always cold.

It had been alright in the summer time, when the days were full of the blazing hot sun. But now as the seasons switched to fall, it became completely impossible for me to continue to wear the girl's short skirt.

It was just too cold.

The principle understood and gave me the okay after my mother showed him the doctor's note. I didn't even know what they diagnosed me with, and nobody but Nana and the principle knew either.

Of course, that meant my classmates had started coming up with their own theories. Since _obviously_ , Dame-Tsuna was lying when she tried to explain.

(I wondered if it was Fate, for me to get the same nickname as canon Tsuna. I could only comfort myself with the knowledge that at least Nana hadn't picked it up yet.)

The whispers around me became louder and more cruel. But I didn't care. I could do anything so long as my mother never showed me that face again, the distraught face she made in the hospital as she brushed back my hair and kissed my burning forehead.

* * *

. . . I tried raunchy Hoe Down by Copland next, anything cheerful to make my sweet mother not cry . . .

* * *

I took up bōjutsu.

Ha ha.

. . .

No, I'm not joking.

Clumsy as I may be, I wasn't stupid, no matter what my teachers were beginning to say. If this was the same universe canon Tsuna had been in, I would be badgered into become a top-dog Mafia boss in the very near future.

If I knew I was going to step into the world of the Mafia (guns! fighting! explosions!) no matter what, I was definitely going to get some kind of fighting experience before that.

So.

I took up bōjutsu. Fighting with a staff.

Now, you may be wondering why I didn't take up martial arts. After all, canon Tsuna used his fists to fight, right?

Well.

That's exactly why.

I know I was in a shounen manga, but really, think about the impracticality of using fists to fight. How do you fight against people with weapons? Like daggers? Or knives?

Even if I'm emitting flames from my hands, I could still hurt them! And as a musician, my hands were my life.

Soooo. I took up fighting with a stick. Mostly because if I try fighting with anything sharp, I would probably stab myself or something. Getting hit by a stick wasn't too bad, and any bruises would just add on to the ones I had before.

Even if I still used my fists to fight in the future (that seemed pretty awesome despite my misgivings; I could become the next super strong and blonde-haired medic ninja from that ninja show I used to watch!), at least I would have more choices when I fought against someone. Maybe it could become my secondary weapon or something?

And on the upside, after I accidentally brained one of my bullies with a tree branch (he was sneaking up to me! It was instinct!), my other bullies finally started leaving me alone. My mother's smiles when she saw me coming back with less bruises was definitely worth getting yelled at by my teacher.

* * *

. . . I practised some of Mozart's Sonatas, simple and elegant, just like the fighting style I wanted to emulate . . .

* * *

Sometimes, I would look down from my window and ponder.

If I jumped, from somewhere high like a cliff, would my flames become unsealed? Would they stream out of my body to save me?

Could I have my life back again?

Over the years, I had always toed the edge. Canon Tsuna did it, right? He unsealed his flames completely with the help of a life-threatening incident. If I did it, wouldn't I be free again?

But . . .

My knees wobbled as I stared down at the street. I always hated heights, because they was so scary. Could I really do it? Could I?

My heart clenched and with a sigh, I turned around and walked back to my desk. Every time I would attempt something like this, I would always get awful foreboding. I didn't know if it was because of my Hyper Intuition (wasn't that sealed like my flames?) or if it was just because I was scared.

All I knew was that I couldn't do it.

Canon Tsuna had Reborn by his side. His demonic tutor who would definitely not let the boy die. But for me . . . who would save me if something went wrong?

Could I really risk it? Risk dying, risk my mother seeing my dead body? Could I really do that to sweet Nana, who had only been loving and supportive ever since The Sealing?

. . .

No, I couldn't.

And so I never tried unsealing my flames of my own accord. I was strong, I could wait out the years until Reborn came. If Tsuna, who did not know his self-worth and had so much self-loathing, could do it, I could too.

It was okay.

(It wasn't.

 _Weakweakweak. I was too scared of death_ ―notagainplease― _to help myself_.

Weak.)

* * *

. . . I played some Tchaikovsky, angry and harsh and frustrated . . .

* * *

_Snip. Snip. Snip._

I cut my long hair, the hair I spent the last three years to painstakingly grow.

"Tsu-chan . . ." Nana said softly as she brushed my now-short locks.

I gave her a soft smile. "It's fine, Mum."

And it really was. I didn't really mind cutting my hair. Falling so often made my brown hair very dirty, so I had to wash it very often. In addition, it was so long now that it took practically forever to wash and dry the thick strands.

I didn't even do any complicated hairstyles with my hair, preferring to just make a low ponytail. So really, my once-long hair meant nothing to me.

. . .

I resolutely ignored the bubble gum that was still staining my sticky hands, the bubble gum I tried fruitlessly to wash out of my hair. I completely ignored the shorter and messier haircut at the back of my head, where a spiteful girl had gotten to with her scissors.

"It's fine, Mum, really," I repeated, closing my eyes to stop any tears that wanted to fall. "It's fine."

After all, it's not the worse people have done to me.

* * *

. . . Bruch's Concerto. Wieniawski's Légende. Mozart's Rondo . . .

* * *

And so, time passed.

One day after another.

Fast, yet so slowly.

Time passed.

Until . . .

.

.

.

 

"Huh?" I asked, my eyes wide with surprise. Nana gave me a beaming smile.

"Iemitsu recommended him, and I was so excited that I called them right away!"

I blinked, still not past my mother's first words. ". . . Huh?" I repeated blankly.

Nana giggled. "Tsu-chan, a home tutor is coming today!"

My mouth fell open in shock. Could it really be . . . ?

"They have such an interesting description in the flyer too!" Nana continued, oblivious to my surprise. "Will raise your kid to be the new leader of the next generation. Grade and subject doesn't matter. Reborn."

 _Reborn_. My eyes widened further.

Nana just smiled at me, beaming. "Isn't it great, I've never seen a promotion like this before!"

. . .

Though I knew what this was all about, really, how did Nana not realize how suspicious that sounded? Reborn's 'advertisement' was even drawn with crayon! Was there illusions at work or something?

"Um," I said, completely at a lost on what I was supposed to say. For better or worse, I didn't get a chance to say anything.

"Ciaossu!"

I froze. My mother gasped. Slowly, I turned around to see a baby with a fedora standing behind me.

"I arrived three hours early, but as a service I'll evaluate you now," the baby said. "I'm Reborn, the home tutor."

I stared at the small baby, the one I once saw a decade ago. This was Tsuna's catalyst. The one who spurred him to become a Mafia boss, the one who stayed beside him in his trials.

I wondered if I should be feeling something. Happy, maybe, that my awful lifestyle was coming to an end? Sad, perhaps, that my normal life was going to be ripped into smithereens?

. . .

Naaaah. The only thing I felt was vindictive pleasure. Why? Well . . .

Reborn here meant Iemitsu was going to come home (for the first time since I was three) soon. Nono too, seeing he was kidnapped and used as a battery for Xanxus' Cloud.

But all of that just meant that I could punch _both_ my stupid father and Nono in the face.

I grinned happily, ignoring Reborn's searching eyes. Oh, I _can't_ wait.

* * *

_And so, my journey begins._

* * *

**Chapter IV End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> Hoe Down by Aaron Copland is the last section of his ballet Rodeo. It is very famous. However, it is not written as a violin solo, so the part Tsuna would have played would be either the violin one part (who had most of the melody), or an arranged version.
> 
> Adoration is a grade 6 violin piece. It is quite easy but I love it anyway.


	5. In Which The Main Character Duels With Words

"I'll be up later with some refreshments, okay Tsu-chan?" Nana beamed happily as she gently ushered both me and my new self-proclaimed tutor into my room. Without even giving me time to respond, the woman was already breezing through the door with a slight skip in her steps.

I blinked as my door closed with a small click. Wow, that was actually quite surprising. My mother was usually much more wary when it came to any stranger being around me, _especially_ after she found about my numerous bullies. For her to leave me alone so quickly with Reborn as company . . . did my mother still remember the baby as one of Iemitsu's trusted acquaintances?

. . . Or maybe I was thinking too deeply in this. For all I knew, perhaps my mother really believed that Reborn was just a cute baby. A very smart, cute baby.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Reborn spoke up, beady black eyes completely focused on me. "Like I have said before, I am your new home tutor."

". . ." I silently studied Reborn, aware that the baby was doing the same to me. The fedora-wearing hitman literally did not change at all since I last saw him ten years ago. However, considering the fact that I was three when I first met him, it probably wouldn't be normal for me to still remember him, right?

". . . How can you be a home tutor?" I asked, mostly because it was the number one question anyone sane would have should they be in my peculiar situation. "You're just a . . . baby?"

"Hmph," Reborn snorted as he jumped onto my bed with envious ease. "Don't question me, Dame-Tsuna."

And then the baby was suddenly waving around a large rifle gun. Despite vaguely knowing it was coming, I still found myself gaping at how quickly the situation changed. Where did Reborn even hide that gun? From what I could remember, Reborn didn't have Mist Flames!

"My true line of work is assassination," Reborn said with a smirk, looking almost gleeful at the confusion that was probably showing on my face. "And my real job is to make you into a Mafia boss."

. . .

Awkward silence.

"Um," I replied eloquently, trying to school my very unimpressed face into my usual blank mask.

No wonder canon Tsuna didn't believe Reborn at first. That sounded just as absurd in real life as I had once imagined!

Luckily, before I could make an even bigger fool of myself in front of the deadly hitman, my bedroom door slammed open. Nana entered the room with a big smile and even sharper eyes as she held a tray of yummy goodies.

"Order of honey tea, espresso, and a plate of cookies is here!" She announced, her eyes lightening minutely when my shoulders relaxed. Reborn seemed to acquiesce to my mother's unspoken demands, and immediately he was munching on a big cookie while nursing his cup of coffee. The baby praised Nana for her skill in the kitchen and to my surprise my mother was blushing softly.

. . . How long had it been since I've seen my mother looking so truly open?

I giggled under my breath and snagged the honey tea and some cookies myself.

Right. Talks about the Mafia came after my mother's home-made sweets.

* * *

"The pen is mightier than the sword."  
― Edward Bulwer-Lytton

"Please tell that to my bullies, urgh."  
― Me

* * *

"Hmm, I see," I said softly once Reborn finished pulling out my family tree and explaining the reasons behind my apparent mandatory inheritance. "So it all comes down to being my stupid father's fault."

Reborn raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that, Dame-Tsuna?"

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. "There are many answers to that question. Like for one, Primo _left_ the Mafia life and moved to Japan, but then my stupid father just had to be the first of his descendants to jump right back in. And then there's the fact that my father just _has_ to become the, uh, CEDEF head? Finally, we can even say that its his fault for having a kid in the first place!"

Reborn's other eyebrow joined the first as he stared at me, looking quite amused at my outburst. I huffed and sat down onto my bed. "What? If he didn't have me, I wouldn't be a Mafia boss in training now would I?"

Reborn looked quite amused as he put his rifle gun to who knows where. With a big jump, the little baby hurtled himself onto the hammock that he had put up only minutes before. I stared with deadpan eyes as Reborn (when did he even change into pink polka-dotted pyjamas?!) snuggled into his miniature blankets.

"Turn off the lights Dame-Tsuna. It's time for my bedtime."

My eye twitched. Bullshit. The great hitman Reborn had a freaking _bedtime_?

But of course, the hitman lived to screw over everyone else's thought processes. Giving me almost no time to reply, Reborn settled down and immediately a giant snot bubble appeared on his face. I stared blankly as the tiny baby really fell asleep.

Shaking my head at the absurd picture, I gently picked up the tray my mother had left earlier before turning off the lights like I have been asked. Walking out of my room, I closed the door gently with a sigh.

I haven't even known Reborn for a few hours and my life was already spiralling into the crazy zone. Oh, joy.

But at least Reborn didn't start making me do homework or something. I could take this free time to sight-read the second page of Preludium and Allegro I haven't got to yet. With a small smile, I made my way down the stairs to put the tray away.

Who knows if I would get time to play violin after Reborn barged in on my life. _Sigh_.

* * *

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I felt something heavy drop onto my head. _You've got to be kidding me._ Why was Reborn sitting on _my_ head? The baby should have known from his numerous spies that staying around my person was a recipe for disaster.

After all, even now, years later and out of my toddler years, I would still trip over nothing and fall with no warning . . .

"Why are you following me to school?" I asked instead, once again resisting the urge to twitch as I felt a small palm smack my forehead before gripping some strands of my fluffy hair.

This was so not fair. I have been trying to not squeal and hug Reborn since the first day I saw him, but he gets to sit on my head? Ugh, I was no paedophile but the baby was just _so_ cute and I had a weakness for cute things. But then again, I really didn't have a death wish . . .

"Hmph," Reborn snorted as he shifted slightly, probably making my untameable hair even messier than before. "I am your home tutor, dame-Tsuna. Of course I must follow you to observe your habits in your institute of education."

I tried to not face fault. I could just see it. A certain tonfa-wielding teen was going to have a field day with snarky Reborn in his precious school, and then any damage they made was going to be blamed on _me_.

Meh . . . hopefully Reborn would give me a break and mask his presence enough so that even Kyouya would not be able to sense him.

"Kyaaaaa!" Successfully chased out of my thoughts, I jumped almost a foot in the air as a high-pitched squeal vibrated through the air behind me. Immediately, I landed awkwardly before I stumbled over my own feet and―

_THUMP._

―fell flat on my face.

. . .

Sadly, this was quite a normal occurrence. Nonetheless, I could already feel the dull pain of new bruises spreading across my limbs.

"How cute!" A _very_ familiar voice commented nearby and I briefly noticed how Reborn was no longer on my head. The hitman had probably foresaw my tripping and jumped off before I had jumped myself.

"Ciaossu," Reborn's squeaky voice flitted up and I felt my lips twitch into a sarcastic smile. Yup. The baby was meters away from my still crumpled form.

. . . I viciously squashed down the feeling of slight hurt at how nobody seemed to even blink at my fallen form. It only went to show how Reborn didn't care for Tsuna ―for _me_ ― at all, and only saw me as his next job. And as for the other person . . .

Pushing myself up and carefully smoothing out my bitter expression, I gingerly probed my bruised nose as I turned around to face the music. Adorable Kyoko with a smile that outshone the sun was what first greeted my gaze.

. . . And the other person was dear Kyoko, who I was certain had hated me ever since she had caught Hana speaking to me that one last time. Now that I was thinking about it, perhaps it was Kyoko's discomfort that kept Hana away from me again. The dark-haired girl _was_ such a loyal and protective friend.

"Why are you wearing a suit?" Kyoko asked with stars in her eyes. She crouched down to gently pat Reborn's fedora.

Both of them didn't spare me a glance. Again, I squashed down a feeling of jealousy ―Reborn let _Kyoko_ touch him?― before I began to arrange my face into the appropriate half-smile I reserved especially for such awkward meetings.

Reborn smirked and fixed his hat's position. "Because I am in the Mafia."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as Kyoko stood up and clapped her hands happily. Did this even count as breaking Omertà?

"Wahhh, how cool!" Kyoko beamed at Reborn, before finally tilting her head as her eyes widened in surprise when she locked her gaze with mine. Pfft. The girl had to have known I've been there all alone, but I really had to admit that her acting skills were top-notched.

"Oh, hello Sawada-san!" Kyoko said, offering me a small smile. Turning around without even giving me a chance to reply, the girl raced off with a "Well, good luck and bye bye!" to Reborn, who humoured her with a sweet 'ciao ciao'.

I watched Kyoko rush off before turning back to face Reborn. The baby was grinning at me as he flicked the rim of his fedora. "That was an example of Mafia seduction, Tsuna."

I sighed, still smarting a bit from my fall and therefore not as focused as I would have liked to be around Reborn. "It should be easy for you to trick innocent girls, huh? I mean, you look so _cute_ . . ."

"What was that, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn asked, a tint of amusement in his voice. I blinked and backtracked before I willed myself not to blush at what I had just said.

"Nothing," I replied as seriously as I could manage. "I was just saying how I need to get moving now, or else I'll be late for school."

And really, I had enough bruises already. I didn't need any more from a beating by Kyouya.

Reborn stared at me, eyes shining mischievously before he thankfully snorted and jumped onto my head once more. I mourned my clean hair (Reborn had been standing on the ground!) before setting off to school again.

* * *

Of course, since someone out there was eagerly trying to make Tsuna's ―and therefore _my_ ― life as miserable as can be, I arrived at school only to find a huge crowd surrounding the front gates of Namimori Middle School.

I sighed. Where was Kyouya when you needed him? How was I suppose to get to class when I couldn't even get onto the school grounds?

When a few minutes passed and our resident and self-proclaimed carnivore still didn't make a visit, I began elbowing and slipping my way through the crowd. Finally, after receiving a few more bruises and slipping through two giggling girls, I found myself at the front.

The scene . . . was something I really didn't expect. It hadn't been in the manga, but then again, I had clearly changed something already with how I was never shot by a Dying Will bullet to make me confess to Kyoko.

I inwardly grimaced. Hopefully, no large-scaled butterfly effect would occur and I would still retain my slight advantage with my foresight.

"Sasagawa Kyoko," A familiar-looking tall teen (a senpai?) yelled as he dipped into a bow. "P-Please go out with me!"

I sighed as the crowd burst into loud catcalls and cheers. I had finally placed the boy's name. Mochida Kensuke. He had been transferred out of my grade one class and into a second year class when the teacher realized he was held back a year by his parents but still exceptionally bright.

Now that I thought about it, hadn't Kensuke been the Kendo captain and the first opponent canon Tsuna defeated? Hmm, I wondered who _my_ first opponent was going to be . . .

"Ah, Mochida-senpai," Kyoko said with a small smile. "I'm happy to know your feelings, but―"

To my surprise, Mochida rudely cut her off. "That's great! Our first date could be this weekend. I already reserved a table at TakeSushi."

My eyebrow lifted as Kyoko's smile faltered. Wow, the nerve of this boy. Had he been so assured of himself that he never even thought that Kyoko would reject him? I waited for the outraged reaction of the crowd watching them, the knights in shining armour that were probably itching to save their school idol . . .

But they never came.

"Wahhhh so romantic!"

"Kyoko-chan, you're so lucky!"

"Mochida, man, he's the lucky one."

"A match made in heaven!"

Kyoko's smile was already fixed, but I could see the strain (the strain that was always there when she looked at me, what did I do why does she hate me whywhy _why_ ) on her face as she fidgeted with her hands. She opened her mouth, probably to try and refuse once more, but was again cut off before she had the chance to speak.

"We are the perfect couple," Kensuke said with a grin, already using present tense for their relationship. He turned around to leave, still singing praises for Kyoko and how she was going to love their date . . .

A small, tiny part of me felt a bit vindicated. It wasn't nice to be the one who nobody listened to, right Kyoko? But the rest of my mind was screaming in wordless rage, because I _knew_ how badly being ignored hurt, I _knew_ how useless someone would feel, I _knew_ ―

"Wow, _Mochida-senpai_ , I-I didn't think you would fall so low you wouldn't even give someone the opportunity to reject you."

As my quiet but firm voice rang into the air, I felt my shoulders droop in exhaustion. Who would have thought that I, Dame-Tsuna, would be Kyoko's sole knight in shining armour?

* * *

"Would you like the salmon or the gyoza?" I asked politely as something warm dropped onto my head once more.

Reborn cheekily swiped the sausage octopus I had speared with my chopsticks. I rolled my eyes. 'Course Reborn would pick the thing I didn't offer.

"Are you even allowed in this part of the school?" Reborn asked me, clearly amused at my current location. I sighed.

I was currently sitting on a chair in an abandoned classroom that had been claimed by the disciplinary committee. Back in elementary school, I once stumbled into a classroom just like this one, one that had also been claimed by Kyouya's committee. When Kyouya found I was using his room to hide from bullies, he had cornered me to give me a beating . . .

And then I made myself look as pitiful as possible before offering him food.

. . . Even to this day, I still had no clue as to what made Kyouya give me my small privilege. Had it been my terrified, pouting face and my fluffy hair that reeked of cute? Or had it been the lunch I had that day, a delicious hamburger steak?

Anyway, in the end Kyouya allowed me to stay in the room once a week, and tightened security around me in exchange for one of Nana's bentos. And ever since then, most times he would come swooping in to save me from my more physical bullies.

Soon enough, thugs stopped trying to steal Kyouya's portion of lunch and learned to only steal mine. And on the first day I registered for Namimori Middle, Kyouya stepped in to inform me that our previous deal still stood before giving me the keys to a room.

In all honesty, Kyouya was probably the only reason I was still able to go to school.

Swallowing a piece of gyoza, I nodded. "I have permission from Hibari-san. Only once a week though because of school rules and whatnot. I rarely come here at the start of the week, but I have a kendo captain who's out for my blood and I really don't want to die today."

Reborn studied me as I spooned up some rice. I ignored his blatant staring as I eyed some vegetables―

"Do you regret it?"

I blinked and turned to look at the baby. Reborn had tilted his fedora down so that it covered his eyes, and what I could see of his face was a blank mask.

"What?" I asked, not quite sure what Reborn was asking.

The baby wasn't deterred. "Do you regret speaking up?"

. . . Ah, so that was what Reborn meant.

"No," I said without a single pause. The baby looked up, his eyebrow lifting as he silently demanded me to elaborate.

"Nobody should be treated like that," I explained. "Nobody should speak over others, or treat the girl they are interested in like an object. I don't really know Sasagawa-san that well, but I know she doesn't deserve that."

(. . . I didn't deserve that either, but unfortunately I couldn't save myself now could I?)

"And if you lose?" Reborn asked, tone neutral.

I shrugged and picked up another sausage. "Even if I lose, I'll raise enough awareness about how Sasagawa-san is being forced to accept Mochida-senpai's feelings. Her fans and friends would help her get out of it, and if Mochida-senpai is too stubborn I'm sure Hibari-san would catch wind of it and 'bite him to death' for his insolence, or something. It doesn't really matter if I win or lose."

Silence. And then Reborn snorted. The baby effortlessly stole my last piece of gyoza, but I swore I saw something that resembled grudging approval glinting in his giant eyes.

* * *

The whole school must have been there. From the school idols like Kyoko and Takeshi to even my many bullies, they all stood watching me. Taking in an indiscreet but big breath, I squared my thin shoulders and forced myself to walk forward confidently.

"There you are!" Kensuke roared as he pointed a shinai at me. "God may forgive a piece of shit like you, but I won't! I shall smite you!"

I silently stared at the shinai that surrounded around me. Although I was quite good at bōjutsu, this was kendo and was thus completely different. Even with the Dying Will bullet, how did canon Tsuna even win? The odds were completely stacked against him . . .

"Don't worry, it's such an easy duel even an idiot like you could understand," Kensuke said with a smug look. "You're a novice at kendo, so if you can get a single ippon off of me, you win! If you can't, then I win!"

. . . I didn't even know what an ippon was.

Even though I told Reborn that it didn't matter if I lost or not, that only pertained to Kyoko. If I lost, _I_ was the one who was going to have to bear the consequences. After all, I would look like a weakling and thus there was no doubt that everybody in the school would bully me even more. I was barely staying afloat now with my knowledge in bōjutsu and Kyouya's help, so that was something I really couldn't afford.

I couldn't lose.

But if it was kendo, I might really lose, even with a Dying Will bullet's help. And I didn't want Reborn to use a Dying Will bullet on me in the first place. I was already cold enough as it was, if I got stripped naked for who knows how long I'll end up sick for sure!

So, taking all of that into account . . . it was time to change the plot. I sent up a quick prayer that it wouldn't affect the future too much before opening my mouth to stop the senpai in his ramble of self achievements.

"W-Who died and made you boss?" I retorted, placing a hand onto my hip. Kensuke stopped talking, looking momentarily stunned.

Feeling slightly encouraged at the reaction, I closed my eyes before trying to channel my once best friend's spirit. The best friend I had from _before_ who had majored in law, aspired to become a lawyer, and who had _never_ lost a debate.

"Why is our match a kendo duel in the first place? You were the one who challenged me, shouldn't I at least get to choose what we would be duelling in?"

Kensuke spluttered. Luckily for me, the crowd seemed to momentarily forget that I was Dame-Tsuna and agreed with my reasoning.

My opponent gritted his teeth before putting aside his shinai. With a self-assured smile, he snorted. "Whatever, Dame-Tsuna, like you would win no matter what you choose. After all, you're _Dame_ - _Tsuna_."

My eye twitched. Oh yeah? Boy, you are _on._

I smiled a sharp smile with all my teeth, and I imagined that it was nothing like my usual shy smiles with the way how Kensuke and the crowd quieted immediately.

"L-Let's have a _debate_ then," I said with another smile before it dropped and I felt my anger spike. "N-Now, you completely _ungrateful and self-absorbed senpai_. D-Do you even know what you're doing? You're treating Sasagawa-san as an _object_. A-An object! Just because she is female, doesn't mean she's not human."

"S-She isn't just some pretty doll you could get at a toys store, one that would stand by you and look pretty. You do _not_ own her just because you're almost as popular as her and said a few pretty words. Sasagawa-san is her own person, and she has the right to say _no,_ have you ever thought about that?" I took a deep breath and ignored how red Kensuke's face had become. Looking up and forcing down my stutter (so many people are watching stopstopstop I'm scared), I finished my argument boldly. "Now, if you keep bothering her, I wouldn't hesitate to kick a place where the sun doesn't shine."

Giving Kensuke who was now suddenly quite pale one last smile, I turned around to wave at a surprised but beaming boxing captain. "A-And I'm sure that even if I don't, Sasagawa-senpai would _gladly_ do the honours for me."

. . .

Silence. Everyone looked stunned. I was a bit surprised at myself too. After all, I have _never_ spoken that much in one go before.

And then the crowd exploded with noise.

"You sexist jerk!"

"How dare you do that to Kyoko-chan!"

"Didn't you cheat on Ami-chan?"

"He did! And he made her cry too, the brute!"

I felt myself relax as Kyoko was swarmed with people yelling apologies. It was finally over; canon Tsuna's first trial. Kensuke should be happy that _I_ didn't rip off all his hair . . .

"Tsuna! Watch out!"

My eyes widened at the familiar voice ―had that been Takeshi?― before I ducked down, just barely missing a vicious blow to the head. Looking up, I inwardly blanched at the furious face of one Mochida Kensuke holding his shinai and looking murderous. Shoot. Was the boy trying to _kill_ me?

"You . . . _You_ . . ." Kensuke snarled as he lifted his shinai. "You _bastard_!"

Rolling over to avoid another blow, I ignored the screaming crowd and immediately got to my feet, stumbling slightly as my bruised leg twinged in pain. Why was nobody getting a teacher?! Clumsily avoiding another swipe, my luck finally ran out as I lost my balance and went crashing to the floor.

Kensuke stalked toward me slowly, looking absolutely gleeful. The crowd stood on the other side of the room, frozen in shock. My last hope was Reborn, but would the hitman really help me? It wasn't like he could _shoot_ Kensuke. And after all, Reborn never really helped canon Tsuna fight any of his opponents, save that one time apparently in the last arc . . .

Closing my eyes, my shoulders slumped and I resigned myself to another beating. With so many witnesses, it wasn't like Kensuke could kill me, right?

"Herbivore, _what are you doing_?"

And suddenly there was a thump and a groan of pain. My eyes snapped open and I almost gaped at who was standing in front of me.

Hibari Kyouya stared at the crowd and the fallen kendo captain in what looked like distaste. Suddenly, the screaming from the crowd started back up again, only this time everyone was tripping over each other in an attempt to get outside. Picking myself up gingerly, I sent Kyouya a quiet 'thank you' before fleeing myself.

I made a mental note to give Kyouya two bento boxes this week in thanks.

The bright sun shone onto my face, and I closed my eyes tiredly as I grabbed my bag and made my way home. And as something warm dropped onto my head once more, I smiled softly and sighed in relief.

All's well ends well.

* * *

**Chapter V End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> Preludium and Allegro is a grade 10 violin piece. The first page is quite easy, but the second is full of quick double stops and things I really hate. I ended up playing Rondo by Mozart instead, but I do have the music and I have sightread the piece before. The first page has a really pretty melody!


	6. In Which The Main Character Plays With Fire

"Please, Sawada-san!" Pleading, sparkly eyes stared at me as I resisted the urge to twitch. "Just do us this one favor?"

. . .

_Why did these things always happen to me?_

". . . Um . . ."

If anyone knew me well, they would have known that my blank expression and half-smile reflected just how stupid I thought the person in front of me was being.

After all, I had bested Mochida through a _debate_. If anything, the most you could call it was an oral fight. So why were there people begging me to be their stand-in member for the volleyball team? And it was the _boy's_ volleyball team too, for goodness' sake!

. . . Did people really forget I was a girl or something? I know I've been wearing the boy's uniform for the past few years, but still! Ugh. Even now, I don't get how this world worked. Was this what they called anime-logic, the phenomenon that even defied the laws of physics?

". . . I really can't play volleyball," I said in a regretful tone. "You've seen me trying in our physical education class, right?"

My classmate froze before paling dramatically. I was sure he was remembering my many attempts at serving the volleyball, in which many of my teammate's heads were abused. Well, at least I made up for my lack of aim with strength. It felt almost stress-relieving to hit the ball as hard as I could and hear the yelps of surprise (and occasional pain).

. . . What can I say? After knowing him for so long, Kyouya probably rubbed off on me.

"A-Ah," my classmate stuttered, looking ready to run away as fast as he could. "You're ri-right! Sorry about bothering you!"

Watching the guy bolt from his spot, I finally gave into the urge to roll my eyes. On one hand, I had never understood the purpose of this event in the canon verse when I used to read it. Was it one of Reborn's earlier and personal tests, to gauge the type of person I was? Or was it just a random dash of crack for the readers of the manga?

On the other hand, I really hoped there weren't any consequences for my actions, or well, my actions lack-thereof. . . I've never changed anything from the 'canon verse' before, but this week alone I've already sidestepped two of the very first 'battles'!

"Hmph," something said above me as a small, warm body settled onto my head. "Dame-Tsuna, Mafia Bosses shouldn't refuse pleas for help."

Discreetly sighing even as I adjusted to the sudden weight on my head, I started to make my way back to my first class. By now, Reborn popping out of anywhere and everywhere had already begun feeling normal. No wonder canon!Tsuna was able to adjust to the sheer amount of craziness in his life. "Well, in that case it's a good thing I'm not a Mafia Boss, right?"

". . ."

"Plus," I continued when the fists clutching my hair tightened. After all, there was no need to make my dangerous, so-called tutor mad. "I would have probably disqualified them if I had actually played for the team."

". . . Hm."

Mentally letting out a breath of relief when Reborn didn't dignify my response with another comeback, I ducked into my classroom and made a beeline to the back. Once upon a time, I would have always sat at the very front of the class because of my bad eyesight. In addition, I liked being at the front because it helped me focus on the lesson and the teacher.

Now, despite my not-so-perfect sight, seeing the board wouldn't have helped my horrendous grades at all.

My lips curled into some semblance of a bitter smile as I sat down in the corner and tried to become one with my desk. Oh, how the tables have turned. The people who had once stared bitterly at my high test marks would probably have payed a good chunk of their salaries to see how low I've fallen now.

"Sawada-kun?"

I jumped in surprise. So deep was I into my dark thoughts, I didn't even notice someone walking up to me . . . or Reborn leaving me to deal with my problems. Reflexively looking up at the sound of my last name, I immediately regretted my lack of attention as I froze, staring at two girls I would really rather avoid.

"Hi," Kyoko said with a subdued smile, one much smaller than the dazzling ones she usually had on her face. It was the most genuine and lovely expression the girl had ever shown me.

In addition, Hana stood beside her, looking disgruntled and even a bit wary. Not that she had anything to be wary about, if I do say so myself.

But _I_ did.

My mental walls came up and almost automatically some extra steel was used to enforce them, something that I had taken to doing whenever I had to deal with Kyoko or her loyal guard dog. Immediately pasting on my specially-reserved small half-smile, I tilted my head in an inquiring manner. "Sasagawa-san and Kurokawa-san? Is-Is there something you need?"

Kyoko blinked even as Hana shifted to the side with a grimace. With a brighter smile now, Kyoko . . .

. . . Bowed . . . ?

I tried to not let my jaw drop as the whole room stilled, conversations stopping abruptly as we all stared at the preppy class idol in shock. She was bowing lowly (respectfully?), back bent almost perfectly at the ninety-degree angle. Not a single whisper permeated the frozen air, though I had no doubt this would be fueling the rumor mills for many months to come. Thankfully, there was almost nobody in our class; a result of me coming to school extremely early in an attempt to get away from the already curious crowd.

"Sa-Sasagawa-san . . . ?" I stuttered in surprise. What the heck brought this on? "Why . . . ?"

Hana scoffed in soft derision. This time, however, I couldn't prevent my eyes from widening as I watched her execute a bow as well. Neither of their faces were currently visible to me, but the dark-haired girl surprisingly began to speak with a rather gentle tone.

"Thanks for sticking up for my scatter-brained friend. I didn't think Mochida-senpai would make a move on Kyoko the moment I wasn't around."

The girl straightened as Kyoko looked up, her expression just shy of what I would dub insecure . . . but hopeful. Hopeful for what? "Yes, thank you so much Sawada-kun. Nobody was listening to me, and . . ."

 _And in the end it was only Dame-Tsuna who came to your rescue, huh?_ Pushing down my sardonic thoughts, I put on my best smile instead of the one I had on before. After all, both girls had looked so earnestly thankful, and I was definitely not one to throw away such heart-felt gratitude.

"No problem," I said, and with some surprise I realized I really meant it. Despite my issues with Kyoko, I really did feel happy about the fact that I was able to help her. Because though she had never stepped in when my classmates began calling me names, she never joined in either. It was hard to hate her when in the end, I didn't even hate my bullies.

Sure, I disliked them, but it was never really hate. To be honest, not even my father or Nono earned my hate, despite what they had inadvertently done to me.

After all, hate was an emotion I reserved only for the seal stuck like a curse on my Flames.

* * *

"Rocks in my path? I keep them all. With them I shall build my castle."  
― Nemo Nox

"Rocks? Hmm, my pet rocks are my only friends."  
― Me

* * *

A few days passed quietly. Well, as quietly as they could be in a supposedly fictional world. I took advantage of the rare days of peace to patiently sightread some more music. Of course, Reborn followed me and discovered my little haven.

Surprisingly, after staring at the place quietly, Reborn did nothing to dissuade me from my violin playing. He even spent two hours sitting on my music stand as I sawed my way through Saint-Saens' lovely Havanaise.

. . . To be honest, I would have felt touched, if I had been a hundred percent sure Reborn didn't switch himself with one of his realistic dolls or something. After all, he had been _very_ quiet when I played.

The situation at school was just as I thought it would be. True to my words, the rumor mills at school all but exploded after Kyoko's little stunt, with rumors that ranged from me being Kyoko's secret pity boyfriend ( _cry,_ so people really _did_ forgot my gender) to how I was a Yakuza mob boss who had Kyoko's family under my thumb. That one was a bit too close to my real situation for my liking, and I suspiciously wondered if Reborn had been the one who started it.

But of course, all good things had to end, and one day my peaceful life all but jumped out of the window.

Oh, why did I describe it like that?

Well, what would you say when you had a really attractive guy with exotic silver hair and green eyes trying to burn you with his glare alone? Would you say your life was still nice and relaxing?

And on that note, why were the canon guardians all so _pretty_ -looking? Sure, I only met three of them so far, but I swore Kyouya looked prettier than _me_ , and both Ryohei and Takeshi could probably win a few male beauty pageants. In addition, now that I met him I could definitely say that Hayato matched Kyouya in prettiness, and, well . . . okay . . . I was a tiny bit jealous.

As if the boy could hear my thoughts, the glare produced by the lovely green eyes increased in intensity. Oh, great. I just barely resisted the urge to slam my head on the desk, or to cuss Reborn out. This was probably all the baby's fault!

After all, where oh where was the cute little boy I talked to that day as we waited for our awards? Where was the awkward child who argued with me about the virtues of Liszt versus Chopin?

Was the boy still playing piano, even when he was in the Mafia?

Giving a desperate glance at the unfortunately closed windows, I wondered if I could jump out of the room with my peaceful life. Surely falling a few stories would be better than staying in the room with a crazy bomber? And since Reborn was here, I might be able to break the seal and not get killed in one whole swoop!

. . . Unfortunately, I didn't run off fast enough. After all, my poor desk went flying after a particularly nasty kick only a few seconds after I thought of my ingenious plan.

* * *

". . . If a pinprick like you becomes the tenth boss, the Vongola Family is finished. I refuse to accept it! I'm the one who's fit . . ."

I listened with one ear as Hayato rambled on and on about his qualifications to be a Mafia Boss, and how I didn't have any of them. Honestly, I kind of agreed with him. No matter how you looked at it, Hayato looked way more scarier than pathetic little me, regardless of how pretty he was.

". . . waste of time to evaluate a weakling like you . . ."

On the other hand, I was quite confused. Hayato grew up smack-dab in the Mafia world, and according to my memories of canon he even lived by himself and did contracts with other Mafioso. So how did the boy even believe he would become boss after killing me? Wouldn't that just hypothetically make the Vongola even unhappier, especially after the death of their last three heirs? What was Hayato, reputed to be a genius, even _thinking_?

". . . so DIE RIGHT HERE!"

I snapped out of my thoughts to hastily dodge a flaming dynamite bomb, blanching even as I did so. When did the boy even pull those out? No, _where_ did those come from?!

In the manga, the fight between canon!Tsuna and his future Right Hand was played down, and to us felt rather light-hearted and quirky. Readers like me laughed over the exaggerated actions and the over-the-top dialogue.

It had been hilariously funny, a form of comic-relief within the admittedly still comical story.

. . .

It wasn't so funny now.

Hayato stood in front of me, thin mouth in an ugly sneer as his hair flew hazardously in the wind. Out of the peripheral of my eyes, I tracked the bomb's trajectory as time began to seemingly slow down.

The dynamite looked _real_. The fuse was sizzling in the air, I could see the spark and―

**BOOM!**

―and oh god _it exploded when it hit the building_.

All thoughts of being in a fictional world, of magical talking babies and potential Right Hands flew out of my mind as I blankly watched the destruction of the wall that was (used to be) left of where I had been standing.

My mouth tasted like the ash in the air. Smoke and debris fluttered upwards, turning the blue sky a ghastly black. The wall had been completely _demolished_.

. . . This wasn't a story anymore. Kids my age (and younger mentally) had weapons like _dynamite_ and _guns_.

This _wasn't a story anymore_.

And oh my _god_ , I was so, _so_ scared. As I stood there, watching the beginnings of orange flames, everything finally sunk in. I wasn't a shounen hero, one who could overcome any hurdles. I wasn't a Mafia boss, and I had no allies supporting me or even the strength to support myself.

I was clumsy, I was stupid, I played violin. I had a doting mother, an always-absent father, and a self-dubbed Grandfather.

I was just a normal kid. I just _wanted_ to be a normal kid.

Hayato looked annoyed that one shot hadn't been enough to injure or kill me, and seemed to start gearing up for his next attack. Valiantly, I bit back the hot sting of tears as I stumbled away from him, hands fumbling with my knapsack as I desperately dug for my only weapon. What was Reborn _doing_? Why wasn't he shooting me with the Dying Will Bullet? Heck, where _was_ he?

. . .

I forced down a sob, mind whirling with sudden paranoia. Did . . . Reborn leave?

Ducking suddenly due to the sudden _wrongness_ I felt, I flinched at the sound of something flying over my head and the resulting explosion. Oh god no, I didn't want to die help me help me I _didn'twanttodieIdidn'twantto_ die―

And then my gloved fingers curled around something cylindrical in shape. I almost wept with relief.

Turning back to face my opponent ( _"Bad, Sawada-san, if your opponents were not amateurs they wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of your open back,"_ ), I pulled the compact metal-rod-to-go and began assembling it, even as I eyed Hayato warily. He eyed me back, an eyebrow raised as he . . . patiently waited for me to finish? Uh, was this another anime-logic thing? Or was he really that confident he could take me down? Then again . . . my metal stick against _dynamite_ of all things . _. ._

Regardless of all that, my squished-together rod quickly turned back into the staff Tetsuya had handed me one day, the metal almost gleaming in the sunlight. Feeling the sheer panic I had been experiencing slowly draining out of me, I gripped my weapon tightly as I stared at my opponent.

. . . I knew the odds of me winning were not in my favor. I still felt afraid. But with the weapon in my hand, some of that faded and turned into a razor-sharp focus instead.

After all, I was a cornered beast. And if I couldn't choose flight over fight, I would do _anything_ to make sure I survived.

Hayato snorted, whether at my defensive stance, at my shaky knees or my white knuckles, I didn't know. What I did know, was that he suddenly threw _two handfuls of dynamite_ at me as I lifted my staff, and I―

I―

― _Fear fear fear I am so afraid I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want_ ―

― _Don't want to die again please it was scary I don't want to leave anymore I don't want to leave Nana I want_ ―

― _I want to live I want to live I want to live_ ―

― _I want to live because I regret I want to live because I regret I regret I regret_ ―

― _I REGRET_ ―

"Hmph, Dame-Tsuna, fight with your dying will!"

**BANG!**

Pain.

Hot. Hot. Hot.

And then the world exploded with orange flames.

* * *

.

.

.

The heavy smell of ozone blanketed my nose as everything around me was decorated in shades of charred black. My poor staff was long tossed aside, and half-melted pieces of dynamite was scattered on the ground like the colourful sprinkles on a cupcake.

I blinked.

Wide green eyes, startling close to my face, blinked back.

. . .

Something was wrong here. I was probably missing something really important even as something inside my chest felt warm―

(. . . _Though it was fading and my body temperature was lowering drastically and its so coldcoldcold . . ._ )

―Wait.

". . . Oh my _god I am so sorry_." I scrambled off of the guy who had just been trying to kill me moments before and scooted my almost-naked butt off to a silent Reborn. Who was staring at me in an almost unnerving manner. But despite still being on just neutral terms with the baby, the familiarity calmed me down and suppressed the hysterical part of me who was trying to burst into tears.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any time for tears just yet.

The fight had been quick and brutal after―after _that_ (was I shot by a Dying Will Bullet?), from the bits and pieces I could remember from my hazy memories.

I remembered jumping and waving my staff around to bat away dynamites, with my only goal being to just survive. I remembered the shock and horror that filtered through my muddled head as I saw a misplaced dynamite landing beside Hayato, and the sheer outrage when his face morphed into a resigned one (― _you can't give up if_ I'm _still trying to survive_ ―).

I remembered my new goal.

And then everything blurred before my eyesight cleared once again. And alerted me to the fact that I was staring into green eyes. How did that even happen? Did I tackle Hayato or something?!

A deep weariness settled into my bones as I fumbled with my discarded clothes and tried to cover up. On one hand, at least the bandages that were loosely wrapped around my chest and my underwear were somehow not burned or tossed away. On the other, I was still mostly naked in front of two guys and my freaking hands were shaking too much to help me get dressed again.

Ugh. At least changing in front of girls so many times had desensitized me to the process. Changing in front of boys weren't all that different, except for my bruised honor or something.

Awkward silence reigned for a few minutes as a frozen Hayato and a quiet Reborn watched me shakily tug on my shirt and my pants. When I finished getting sloppily dressed, I lifted my head just in time to see the bomber snapping out of his daze.

"You," he started before trailing off. Sharp green eyes scrutinized me, and I resisted the urge to flinch. Both of them saw how many bruises littered my skin, and, well, I didn't really think I could take it if the boy got inspired or something.

And then, under my wary eyes, Hayato moved. Slowly, as if he was trying to not startle me, he settled into . . .

My eyes widened in pure surprise.

Hayato was bent over, his head touching the ground in a totally submissive gesture. He was _prostrating_ himself to me. It was a dogeza, I knew. Canon Hayato did this a lot, I knew. But still, I couldn't connect this humiliating pose to someone who I knew had so much pride.

"Tenth. You saved my life and defeated me." The boy looked up, green eyes as blank as his quiet voice. "I pledge my life to be yours."

* * *

"Mama!" I called out as I opened the front door. Reborn deftly hopped off from his perch on top of my head. "I'm home! I also have a guest!"

The clattering in the kitchen abruptly stopped before Nana hustled out, a warm and welcoming smile on her face even as her sharp eyes took in my ruffled appearance.

"Welcome home, Tsu-chan!" Nana chirped without missing a beat. She came forward and took my bag as I turned around to invite Hayato in. The silver-haired boy hesitantly followed my lead.

"Th-Thanks for having me," he said awkwardly even as my mother stilled at the red burn marks that dotted Hayato's pale skin. A split-second later, she was already warmly welcoming the bomber as she subtly fished for some information.

I sighed.

I had been horrified when I heard Hayato say those words, and in that manner as well. It had been so completely different than what had happened in the canon storyline, I had been afraid that my seemingly insignificant meddling had already produced some rather large butterfly effects.

But to be honest, I felt that what my Hayato had done seemed to fit his character more. I never understood why the future Right Hand had so easily accepted canon!Tsuna as his boss, and so exuberantly too. When I first read the manga, I used to think that it had all been an act.

As of it now, I wasn't all too sure if his current personality was an act or not. Would the boy try to off me when I had my guard down?

"We'll be in my room, Mama," I said when Nana finally took a pause to breathe. I almost felt sorry for Hayato; the taller boy looked almost overwhelmed.

"Ara, of course Tsu-chan," the smiling woman said happily. She peered at me, caramel eyes suddenly sharp. "Should I bring some snacks up later?"

Which was really Nana-talk for, _should I check up on you later_? Thinking over her offer, I weighed the pros and cons before reluctantly shaking my head. There was no need for my mother to barge in if we were going to have a Mafia-related talk.

"It's fine Mama, I'll go get them myself if we get hungry," I replied as I began steering Hayato to the stairs. Reborn followed us quietly.

"If that's what you want," Nana acquiesced peacefully as she watched us leave. "I'll be in the kitchen then."

To be honest, I would have never invited Hayato home if I hadn't burned his left hand. I was still too scared of the teen to do something like that. It would never have happened any time soon . . .

But when I saw the angry, red welt, I was overcome with guilt. Because even if he didn't play anymore, Hayato was a _pianist_. And I _burned his hand_.

(". . . _remember ._ . . _if you have to break a limb, make sure you break your leg, not your arm or hands . . ._ ")

"I promise I won't take too long," I assured the silver-haired boy, ignoring his words of 'it's fine, Tenth's as I stubbornly insisted. It was definitely _not_ fine.

Quickly making my way to my room, I sat Hayato onto my bed before fetching my first-aid kit from my washroom. Armed with disinfectant, a soothing salve, and some bandages, I began to professionally and efficiently clean the teen up.

On the bright side, well, it wasn't like I didn't have practice at doing this.

". . . You don't have to serve me, you know," I began quietly after a few minutes of a relaxed if slightly strained silence. The body in front of my hands stiffened slightly. "There's no need to do something as drastic as that."

"Tsuna," Reborn spoke up for the first time since the fight. I was so surprised to hear just my first name that I almost dropped my roll of gauze. "The losers serve the winners, if they are still alive. Those are the Mafia rules."

. . .

That was utter _bullshit_. Looking up to refute Reborn's words, I almost froze at the dark look the baby had on his face. Come to think of it, his tone of voice had been oddly blank as well. I had never heard him so . . . not teasing and serious.

But still . . .

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not Mafia then," I remarked dryly as I looked back to continue my work. I really didn't know if I should accept Hayato as my Guardian or not. On one hand, it felt like a part of me yearned it. On the other hand . . . I was still so afraid . . .

". . . But I am," Reborn said slowly, breaking into my turbulent thoughts. "Should I dispose of him for you, then?"

Hayato completely froze up this time while I whipped around to stare at the baby in horror. That was ― That was absolute blasphemy! According to my memories of canon, wasn't _Reborn_ the one who called Hayato over to 'test' me?!

"You . . . you, why?!" I blurted out as I bodily moved in front of the frozen boy. Not that I had any hope of stopping the baby if he really decided to kill Hayato.

"Well," Reborn began slowly, beady eyes dark and mockingly considering. "He tried killing my charge. Wouldn't that be enough of a death sentence already?"

I stared at the baby hitman wordlessly, vaguely aware of how the body behind me was trembling. Even if I was afraid of Hayato, even if I _hated_ him (which I didn't), did I want him to die? To suffer?

The answer came too easily.

"You can't," I said, my voice stronger and more serious than I would have ever thought. "He's _mine_ now. You _can't_."

* * *

**Chapter VI End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> Saint-Saens' Havanaise is a piece for the Teacher's level, which is what I am currently on. It has a really simple first page, but after that, oh my god good luck. Feel free to give it a listen! The melody is quite catching! :D


	7. In Which The Main Character Goes Shopping

". . ."

I woke up feeling as if an elephant had decided to stomp on my head a few times overnight. In other words, _ow my head was killing me what did I do to deserve this_. And no, it wasn't because Reborn had smacked me with his Leon-hammer or something.

Blinking dazedly in pain, I spent a few quiet moments just staring at the dark ceiling. Slowly, as if not to startle me (ha ha, way too late for _that_ ), the events of the previous day started unfolding in my mind. And boy, had it been a rough, shounen hero typical day. After all, I had faced my first assassination attempt, brought my would-be killer back to my house to treat his wounds, and offered him one of our many guest bedrooms when I found out that he did not have a place to stay.

. . . Yeah, I know. I don't get myself either. Maybe the anime world was infecting me with their crazy.

Anyway, after I had went to bed yesterday, I spent the first few hours of my 'sleep' awake. Mostly because . . . well, I was internally screaming. Actually, I also stuffed my face into my pillow and _really_ screamed for a couple of seconds, until Reborn kicked me and told me to stop my 'pathetic muffled shrieking'. He was a terrible influence, no matter the fact that he only got here. After all . . .

' _You can't,_ ' I said. ' _He's mine,_ ' I said.

After the sudden panic from Reborn's words had fully left my body, I suddenly realized that . . . I claimed Hayato . . . as my Guardian? Even though I most certainly did not want to become a Mafia boss (just let me play my violin in peace, fudge-cakes!), or have Guardians in the first place?

Sure, I had done it in the heat of the moment (as it was, my face could not stop burning from embarrassment) to save someone's life, but . . . Reborn, the devil-from-hell-wrapped-up-in-a-cute-package, had looked so pleased with himself! If I didn't fear for my life, I would have screamed at him, the jerk. He probably wouldn't have killed Hayato in the first place, ugh.

Then again, it wasn't like I was suddenly okay with everything and putting yesterday's incident out of mind, either. I was still incredibly wary of Hayato, even if the teen seemed to be trying to look as harmless as possible. And . . . though I was somewhat glad that I didn't have to deal with canon!Hayato's god-like worship for canon!Tsuna, the absence of his numerous dogezas was throwing me off too. After all, for there to be such a contrast in personality between this Hayato and canon!Hayato, wouldn't that mean that I've already done something incredibly wrong?

Ugh. It was just my luck. The canon plot had barely started and I have already messed something up. At this rate, I wouldn't even be able to finish the first comedic arc before making the world suddenly explode into flames or something.

With a sigh, I silently lamented the weirdness that was my life before I finally mustered up the strength to get out of my bed. Headache or no, I had to start getting ready for school lest I be late (and be bitten to death via Hibari).

". . . Whoa."

Uh, let me reword that. I _attempted_ to get up. However, when my surroundings began to tilt sideways, it became quite obvious that getting out of my cocoon of blankets was something currently unfeasible.

Because . . . why was it so _cold_? Did our heater break again or something? Ugh . . .

Shivering slightly, I took a deep breath before pulling myself out of bed through the power of my sheer stubbornness. And wow, was it a bad idea. Stumbling over my freezing feet, I didn't even manage to make it to my bathroom before I tripped over thin air and hit the floor with a loud crash.

"Ow . . ."

It was a miracle Reborn hadn't gotten up to throttle me for making so much noise so early in the morning. Then again, I was under no illusions that he wasn't already awake. Hitmen slept lightly, right?

The sound of hurried steps making their way to my bedroom door filled the air, before my poor door was flung open and a still pajama-clad Hayato was revealed. I stared at him blankly. Why was he here?

Hayato blinked in confusion as well before he visibly jerked at seeing me sprawled on the ground. He took a deep breath before the boy walked over, slow, steady, and wary. I also did not miss his furtive glances to a certain hammock either.

Why was he being so cautious? Unless . . .

. . . Oh god. Don't tell me . . . Hayato's sister, the one with a name that meant something white? She was a poison specialist, wasn't she? Did . . . Would Hayato have actually poisoned me?

( _Did he really want me to die that badly? Did he really hate me that much?_ )

"Tenth . . . ?" The taller boy whispered, tense and worried. "Are you alright?"

". . ." But no. I didn't feel any ill intent from him, ever since we had concluded our match. My instincts told me that Hayato had nothing to do with my pounding head and sudden weakness, and my instincts have never been wrong before. Whatever my condition was, it was all on me.

"Tenth?" Hayato took another step forward, and I was bemused to see the start of concern showing in his green eyes. The quiet doll he had been since yesterday was really freaking me out.

. . . Wait, no, what did Hayato want from me again?

I blinked once more, feeling especially slow and as if I was mentally wading through a sea of quicksand. Pulling myself up from my crumpled heap on the floor, I shivered again as I buried my heavy head into my knees. It was so cold . . .

Something fell gently onto my hunched back as a small and cool hand touched my forehead. The same figure that was clutching my fluffy hair with his other hand abruptly stilled.

". . . Smoking Bomb," Reborn's voice called out. "Go get Maman."

* * *

"I'm shopping around for something to do that no one will like."

― Jerry Garcia

"I don't have to shop for something to do that no one will like. Those things come to me free of charge."

― Me

* * *

"Thirty-seven point five degrees Celsius. Oh Tsu-chan," Nana sighed softly as she put away the thermometer and fussed with my blankets. By now, she was already a professional at dealing with sick kids. All because of me, of course.

"How did you manage to get sick again?"

I gave the worried woman a slightly sheepish smile even as my head spun annoyingly. And it wasn't just because of my low fever either.

Because, ugh, being sick meant that Nana was not going to let me out of her sight, much less let me go to school. And missing school meant I was changing the plot even further! After all, I could distinctly remember canon!Tsuna _not_ getting sick after he took down Hayato.

Wasn't Takeshi's suicide attempt after Hayato's introduction? I didn't think it was right after, but if I was sick any longer I might even miss it, oh my _god_. Although I was still holding onto the hope that it _wouldn't happen_ , the chances weren't looking too good right now.

After all, Hayato happened.

. . . Thankfully, my fever was a low one, so if all went well I would be back to school by tomorrow.

"How unfortunate," Reborn commented mildly beside me and my pillow fortress, even as he took a sip of his espresso. "In that case, Gokudera should leave by himself, Maman. He's going to be late for school."

Hayato bristled, looking completely unwilling to go to school by himself even as Nana gasped. She immediately hurried to the kitchen, babbling about how she'll whip up a breakfast-to-go and his lunch, as Hayato switched from bristling from Reborn's words to many flustered protests. It was kind of cute, to be honest. Though it was also upsetting that my mother seemed to be the only one who could get that much emotion from the silver-haired teen.

I leaned my head onto the pillow behind me as I eyed Hayato. Although I wouldn't be able to go to school, there was no need for him to stay behind with me as well. He didn't inherit any medical skills from that perverted doctor person, after all.

"You-You should go to school," I said softly. "It's only your second day, you shouldn't miss it."

". . . But Tenth . . ." Hayato said softly. I frowned at the name even as Reborn stood up.

"I agree with Dame-Tsuna," the baby said, his drained Leon-Cup morphing back into Leon. "You should make your own opinions of Namimori, without your boss by your side."

". . . Alright," Hayato eyed Reborn warily before Nana called for him. Giving me a last, lingering look, the silver-haired teen hurriedly bowed before heading downstairs. After what seemed to be some exuberant words from my mother, the sound of the front door clicking shut fluttered up to my ears.

"Ugh," I sighed before burrowing back into my blankets. To be honest, I didn't feel too badly, even if my clumsy actions made my illness seem worse than it actually was. Every time I got sick, doing anything productive was worse than walking through hell. I couldn't concentrate on anything, and my clumsiness skyrocketed. It was pretty awful, especially considering the fact that I got sick _so often_.

"Hmph, Dame-Tsuna, I can see you already nodding off. Just go to sleep, you can do your missed classwork later."

. . . Wow. Who knew Reborn could be so nice? Maybe I was looking pathetic enough that he was feeling sorry for me? In any case, I sighed in relief as I turned to my side. Since Reborn seemed to be okay with it, I closed my heavy eyes before listening to the sound of my ticking clock. It was very relaxing, in a way . . . almost like a heart-beat . . .

_Tick . . ._

_Tock . . ._

_Tick . . ._

_Tock_ ―

* * *

For all of yesterday's excitement, I had a pretty lazy morning. Or none at all, depending on how you looked at it.

I woke up again around noon, feeling much better and not as though death had warmed over. After some brunch, and an hour of my dear Havanaise (hurrah, it was finally sounding like actual music now! Not like a cat dying!), I finally felt the urge to go do something else. Fortunately, Reborn was off to god knows where, and after many promises and reassuring Nana that _"I feel completely fine now!"_ my mother allowed me to go out for some fresh air.

Believe me when I said that it was a small miracle for my overprotective mother to relent. But by now, it was kind of my Thing. Every time I felt better after getting sick, I liked going outside for a walk. It was very refreshing after being cooped up in my stuffy room. But in any case, at least my fever was _really_ (almost) gone now, and nobody would object when I go to school tomorrow. Hopefully, I hadn't missed anything too important that day.

I wandered around blindly, humming under my breath as I just enjoyed the peace and quiet. I was under no disillusions that it might be a while before I could get a chance to be alone again. In fact, perhaps Reborn was already trailing me? Not like I could do anything even if I could tell . . .

". . ."

My steps slowed to a stop as I frowned at the wall to my left. There was nothing weird about it; it was made out of bricks and was just slightly chipped. So why did I feel as though there was suppose to be something more . . . ?

The wall flickered.

. . . Of _course_. Maybe that was why.

Slowly, the wall faded away to show a small storefront. It looked quite old, and the sign that was attached crookedly to the front had cursive loops that spelled out 'Phira's Antiques'.

. . .

I gaped. Okay, this was absolutely absurd. Was the butterfly effect really that powerful? What the heck did I do for something like this to occur?! I knew for certain that this had never happened in canon before.

However . . . now that I thought about it, canon didn't cover every single day of Tsuna's life. It didn't even cover every moment of _Tsuna's_ life, for there were chapters that were instead more focused on his Guardians'. So, who knows? Maybe this did happen in canon and the mangaka just didn't draw it?

On the other hand, should I go in? I really did like antiques, and, well, who wouldn't be curious about something like this? My interest was certainly piqued, that was for sure. After all, if anything this really reminded me of that manga in my past life that I wanted to read but never got the chance to . . .

I eyed the store again even as I took a suspicious look around at my surroundings. Now that I was more aware of my surroundings, I suddenly realized that I had somehow wandered to another part of Namimori . . . one that I wasn't that familiar with. Was this all a trap? I mean, randomly-appearing _stores_. That was definitely not normal . . .

Well. I could conjure up orange flames. In fact, I just did it yesterday while I ran away from dynamites. I wasn't really that normal either.

I eyed the store again as I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. I didn't really feel like this store was that dangerous, and Reborn was probably tailing me, right? Mind made up, I approached the door and opened it. An old-fashioned jingle sounded as I walked inside, the door closing softly behind me with a creak. I didn't really take mind of that because though I had just stepped inside, I was already flabbergasted.

". . ."

It was like stepping into a completely different time; maybe the _store_ itself should be an antique! All the furniture and decorations were ancient looking, and, wow was that a _viol_ on that shelve?

"Welcome!"

Jumping a foot into the air at the sudden noise, I whipped around in fright. And, oh, again, _wow_. A very gorgeous woman dressed in all white smiled sweetly at me. Her beauty was a hundred levels above the beauties I remembered from my past life, and even a few levels above the anime-level prettiness I saw everyday. In fact, she looked almost otherworldly. The woman had straight black hair, and a five petaled flower tattoo under her left eye.

Oh man. Usually I was a sucker for detail but. Was this beautiful woman important to the plot? I would have guessed that she was Luce or Aria because of the tattoo, except Luce was supposed to be dead and Aria, from my memories, didn't have such short hair. Plus, the hair colour was different too . . .

"Oh, it's been such a long time since a customer visited!" The not-Luce chirped sweetly as she hustled toward me. "Dear, what are you looking for?"

I stared, took another look at the weird and ancient things lining the shelves, and then decided that I definitely did not get enough sleep to combat all of this crazy. Which means. It was time to follow the crazy.

Hey, if you can't beat 'em, you join 'em.

"Well-Well," I said with a hesitant smile. "I'm looking for a . . . few presents, like one for my . . . tutor."

Because seriously, I remembered canon!Tsuna getting grief from the baby when it was Reborn's birthday, and what better place to get a present for the weird man-baby than this extremely bizarre store? Plus, he wasn't even here! At least, not where I could see him . . .

"D-Do you have any suggestions?"

The woman's eyes glinted with an odd sort of knowing as she smiled. "Your tutor, huh . . . ? Oh, I've got just the thing!"

* * *

"What were you doing outside?"

I blinked at the words I was met with the moment I had stepped into my own house. Turning around, I studied the still baby that sat on my slippers as he stared at me with those unnerving black beetle eyes.

. . . Had Reborn really not known, or was he testing me? I couldn't imagine know-it-all Reborn not knowing, but if he really didn't know, then man, I should be more careful from now on. On the other hand, it probably wouldn't be out of the question for a magically appearing store to conceal its presence, even from Reborn, so . . .

It came down to the question of whether I trusted _Reborn_ enough to tell him the truth. And, well . . .

". . . Oh," I said with a nonplussed shrug, just oozing nonchalance like a faucet. "I felt a bit better and wanted to take a walk. It's a nice and refreshing thing to do after you get sick."

Reborn stared at me some more. I . . . gave him a very bright and sweet smile. Yeah, I was way too tired to be dealing with any accusations. After all, after I had left the store (and after it disappeared back into the brick wall), I realized that I still had no idea where I was.

Thank goodness for the invention called the GPS and for my phone. Small mercies. Even then, as I was not proficient at using maps (or my GPS), it took me much mental power to make it back home. Thus, I was exhausted. All I wanted to do now was to go back to sleep . . .

Reborn hummed, backing down slightly. To my relief, he looked a bit amused at my cheery smile. Of course, that relief all but dissipated at Reborn's next words. "We're going to school. You need to help Smoking Bomb; he's under the threat of expulsion."

. . .

"He's _what_? It's only his second day!" I stared at the baby incredulously before despairing. Goodbye dear nap-time . . .

* * *

Okay, I have to admit, it was kind of sweet. I mean, Hayato got himself into his mess for a good cause.

. . . Altruistic even. Apparently the boy was standing up for me or something when he realized our Science teacher Nezu ( _hello_ meanie do I despise you so) was making fun of me.

Oh man. I could count on one hand the times where someone stood up for Dame-Tsuna, and still have many fingers left over. So yeah, it was really sweet.

That still didn't explain why Hayato felt the need to pull out his dynamites though. I would have understood if it had been hot-headed canon!Hayato, but I thought yesterday had proven that this Hayato was nothing like canon. Maybe I read his character wrong? In any case, that meant I was stuck trying to find a time capsule (really, who made up these stupid punishments?) while Hayato fluttered beside me, looking upset.

Well, at least school was good for him. I mean, I could read his face better now, so it was definitely a step-up from this morning. Plus, he looked more lively and more like the child he was . . . and nothing like the Mafioso he was yesterday.

"I'm really sorry, Tenth," Hayato murmured softly as he followed after me, almost as if he was a lost puppy. Like I said, cute. "I didn't mean to get you involved . . ."

Sighing softly ―it was nice the first few times but by now the apologies were just getting tedious― I surveyed the playground once again. "It's fine Gokudera-san. A-And again, please just call me Tsuna."

But of course, like every single time I corrected him, Hayato ignored me once more. Really, was I breaking some kind of Mafia law or something, telling my subordinate to call me by my name?

"It's fine, Tenth," Hayato said as he stared at the playground, fingers twitching. "Even if I do get expelled, I don't really need to go to school."

And once again, I refused. Ugh, we've been performing this song and dance for a while now.

"Absolutely n-not," I said, this time foregoing all politeness to sound as firm as possible. Like I was going to let him skip school when I had to suffer in it! Plus, Hayato was much more relaxed now, and I wasn't going to let someone take that away from him.

Which brought us back to the original problem. How the heck were we suppose to find some time capsule? At first, I thought Reborn was going to just shoot me with a Dying Will Bullet or something. That was basically what he did all the time in the beginning of canon anyway.

But no. Reborn just sat there, staring at us and oozing the fact that he had no intention to help us. Ugh. Really, what did I do to change canon so much already? Reborn had no problem shooting me yesterday, and he had no problem shooting Tsuna in canon either!

"I could just blow the whole playground up?" Hayato murmured softly, with a hint of hope in his voice. I . . . tried not to flinch. Because one, dynamite was gonna haunt my dreams for a dozen nights or so after yesterday's fiasco, and two, _Hibari Kyouya_.

Yeahhhh. I did not want to die anytime soon, thank you very much. But still, that didn't leave me with any other ideas.

Really. I frowned, going through my options. I could go back to the principle and yell at them or the administrative staff since this punishment was definitely not legit. Then again, I'm ' _Dame-Tsuna_ ', and the chances of them listening to me were almost nil. I could ask Reborn, but he was currently ignoring us. I could go ask _Hibari_ , but I really didn't want to be so indebted to him at the start of the first arc. I don't think I could ever finish being his cook otherwise . . .

Geez, how did canon!Tsuna solve this problem? Even he probably needed some outside help, right? I mean, unless the Dying Will Bullet heightened his Hyper Intuition to the point where he could pinpoint the location of a time capsule . . .

. . . Pinpoint the location . . .

. . . Wait a minute. Time capsules were usually made out of metal, right? Or maybe a glass bottle with a metal lid, since they're not as degradable? Which meant, if I had a metal detector . . .

"Tenth?"

Ignoring Hayato's confused tone, I turned around to stare at Reborn's fedora. Or, more specifically, his magical chameleon on his fedora. Lovely green and shape-shifting Leon cocked his head at me.

_Bingo!_

* * *

On the next day, true to my predictions my mother gave me the 'okay' to go back to school. Luckily, though, as I was still 'under the weather', I was allowed to just watch from the sidelines for P.E class. Hayato, on the other hand, took the day off to go restock some dynamite. Apparently I did a number on his seemingly infinite supply.

Speaking of school, I don't know if it was because the universe just spontaneously adjusted for me or something, but all the P.E courses were co-ed. Which meant that the girls and the boys played together, which also meant that the plot continued as if I was a guy.

In any case, I sat in the shade on the bleachers while the two team leaders began arguing over their teammates. Both looked quite happy that I wasn't playing. I didn't blame them, I was also really happy too.

Finally, after some cajoling from Takeshi Yamamoto, the resident baseball hero, the two teams were set. I disinterestedly watched as the game started. Sure, I knew how baseball worked . . . somewhat.

Uh, to be honest, most of my knowledge came from the baseball manga I used to read back in my previous life. And really, I read those mangas for the cute bromance moments, not for the baseball.

"KYAAAAA!"

"NICE YAMAMOTO!"

"Tch, you should only use one arm!"

Looking up, I was just in time to see the disappearing baseball as Takeshi apparently hit a home-run. I hummed softly as I observed the boy. Although I knew he was probably my Rain, I have never felt any need to approach him before.

. . . Okay, that was kind of a lie. Everyone wanted friends, and I was no different. Takeshi was easy enough to get along with, and after being paired with him for a project in English (much to the disgust of his fangirls), I almost thought that he was starting to enjoy my company.

. . .

Ahh, it was such a nice way to meet you, dear naivety.

The next day, Takeshi walked away with his baseball team and ignored how two bullies had cornered me in the hallway. I never did figure out if he had truly not seen me, or if it had been a purposeful action.

I didn't want to know either. To be honest, I was too cowardly to find out.

. . . In any case, I stayed far, _faaar_ away from the baseball genius after that.

* * *

"Sure, I can sweep the field, _sensei_ ," I agreed amiably when the teacher asked me to help clean up. After all, I didn't really participate so it was kind of fair. Plus, I didn't need to change like the rest of my classmates.

Sighing at the really big and messy field, I got to work as I hummed a tuneless melody under my breath. It was a good thing Hayato was away, or else I was afraid that he was going to take offense, like what he had apparently done yesterday. And I actually _liked_ my P.E. teacher this year. She was nice.

"Help has arrived!"

"!"

I jumped in surprise and whirled around just in time to see Takeshi walk towards me with a broom. Quickly, I suppressed the slight flare of unease before slapping on a hesitant smile. "Yamamoto-san?! Ah, you . . . you don't have to help!"

"It's no problem!" The boy grinned at me with a wide smile, but I felt as if it did not reach his eyes. Not that I could say much about that without being a hypocrite myself. In any case, Takeshi started to sweep the floor, and after a few seconds of confused staring I went back to my own sweeping too.

Although outwardly I maintained a sense of calm, inwardly, my thoughts were running a mile per minute. Oh gosh, this was where Takeshi came into canon, wasn't it? The ever-so important introduction of Vongola Decimo's Rain? One of the most important scenes in the first arc?

. . . What would happen if I messed it up? Then again, would this Takeshi even want to join Vongola? From what I saw, he was utterly devoted to baseball. Like, completely obsessed. I really, _really_ doubt he would give his world up for a life of crime.

This wasn't just a shounen manga series, after all. This was _real life_.

_. . . My_ life.

"Hmm."

I looked up at the noise and blinked at the interruption of the silence. Takeshi also stopped before turning around with another smile, this time wry and dare I say, even more visibly unhappy. "Aren't you amazing lately?"

"Ah," I murmured softly as I leaned onto my broom and watched the taller boy closely. "Not . . . not really."

"No, it's true," Takeshi insisted. "You were really amazing against Mochida-senpai. In comparison I just play baseball like it's all I know . . ."

"Wha-What . . ." I stopped and stared, gathering my scrambled thoughts. Technically, what Takeshi had just said was all the truth . . . so. What was I suppose to say now? Lie? Comfort the boy? Ugh, curse him for putting me into a situation like this! "I, um, think you're amazing for being so de-devoted to something."

". . ." Takeshi gave me a searching stare before sighing. "Lately, it's not going that well."

Oh, really? I mentally cried. What was I, the school's guidance counselor?

"No matter how much I practice, my average is dropping and my fielding is screwing up," Takeshi continued, ignorant of my mental pains. "At this rate, it'll be the first time I don't start since I began playing baseball. Tsuna . . . what should I do?"

I stared. Again, what was wrong with this world? No, actually? What God out there put the idea of asking _me_ for _baseball_ advice into Takeshi Yamamoto's head? I was sure it wasn't the Baseball God! They probably don't even know I existed!

"Yamamoto-san . . ." I started off slowly. "I-I don't know much about baseball . . ."

"Aha!" Takeshi immediately grinned again with his eyes closed as he rubbed the back of his head. This time I winced, though thankfully he didn't see it. After all, that was definitely not a happy smile.

. . . Was Takeshi's mask breaking?

"I know, it's just that you've been so reliable lately . . ."

And now, we were at the crux of the moment. I remembered what canon!Tsuna said, at least the gist of it. So if I wanted to follow the canon way to get my Rain, I could. But . . . did I really want to be the catalyst that spurred Takeshi into his suicidal attempt? Even if he wouldn't end up as my Guardian otherwise . . .

Well, even if he does, at this rate it would take a while for me to trust him, just like Hayato and Reborn. And to be honest, I don't think I could ever get rid of the guilt if someone's _suicide attempt_ was because of my fault. So yeah, in the end this was a no brainer.

Taking in a deep breath to steady my sudden nerves, I reached out to snatch Takeshi's pitching hand with a strong grip. Ignoring the boy's jolt of surprise, I pressed gently onto his wrist and watched dispassionately as the baseball player winced in pain.

"T-Tendinitis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, they are both caused by over . . . overuse of repetitive movements over a long period of time," I explained the basic facts, trying to keep my voice as steady and as professional as possible. "You're stressed and-and, you're tired, and at this rate you'll burn yourself out, Yamamoto-san."

The boy stared at me with wide eyes. I could understand his surprise. I think this was easily the longest conversation I've ever had with him before.

"So my advice t-to you would be to take a break. I . . . I don't think that's what you want to hear though." Sighing, I let go of his arm before going back to my sweeping.

I was done. There it was; my good deed for the week.

". . . A break, huh?"

Takeshi also absentmindedly went back to his sweeping, before the poor guy suddenly remembered he had practice and rushed off to the other field. Thankfully, we were almost done so it didn't take me long before the field was sparkly clean.

I stretched and then grabbed my bag. Time to go back to home sweet home . . .

* * *

It was a good day. The sun was shining outside, I had managed to get up earlier than Reborn again to avoid his wake-up call, and my mother made me my favourite breakfast along with some coffee and freshly-baked bread for Hayato. I also got to school quite early today, so I was currently taking the time to twirl my pencil as I tried to figure out the extra math homework Reborn assigned me . . .

"HEY EVERYONE!"

A boy skidded into our class, a haze of panic surrounding his frantic movements. "Yamamoto is about to jump off of the roof!"

. . .

What _. Why._

My pencil snapped in my hand.

* * *

**Chapter VII End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Musical Notes:
> 
> In our freshman year (grade 9, first year of high school, etc), us students in the specialized art program spend around two weeks to one month in our musicianship classes learning about music and health. We learn ways to make sure we don't hurt ourselves and all that. Tendinitis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are two illnesses that, at a fundamental level, are caused because over over-repetition and strain. Despite learning about it in our first year, there's still a couple of students who get it each year. This is why you must remember to take breaks!


	8. In Which The Main Character Turns Into A Flaming Chicken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: canonical suicide attempt happens here! please do not read if you are uncomfortable with such things, and skip to BANG! also, the talk of suicide happens a lot here, and i don't have much experience with talking someone from one. the most i've done was help someone through a panic attack, and though i read up on a few articles about what to do with suicidal friends, i apologize here if something makes you uncomfortable or offends you. please tread this chapter carefully!

" _Yamamoto is about to jump off of the room!_ "

.

.

.

Huh. Nine words, not even ten, and already I could feel the claws of panic sink into my skin.

I blinked slowly. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

There was a low ringing in my ears as I stared dazedly at the frantic boy who was the unfortunate person that had to deliver the news. Looking away as everyone started to panic, I wasted a few precious seconds staring at the broken pencil in my previously white-knuckled fist. One of the jagged ends had pierced my skin and drawn blood, and the bright red droplets on my pale hand had looked quite pretty.

I didn't even register the pain.

"Tch," Hayato snarled softly, looking disgruntled as he got up from his chair to walk carefully over to me. He didn't bat a single eye at my scrambling classmates. "Jumping off of the roof? What a stupid coward."

". . ."

Right. I breathed in deeply. Takeshi was about to jump off of the roof. It was totally not the time to admire the aesthetic contrast of bright red on milky white.

My classroom emptied as a herd of screaming kids rushed to the roof. Me, on the other hand . . . I was not as hasty. Instead, I looked down to study my feet.

_"So my advice t-to you would be to take a break. I . . . I don't think that's what you want to hear though."_

Takeshi . . . couldn't have misinterpreted my words to that degree, could he? But, why else was he doing this? Did he not heed my advice?

Takeshi was going to jump off of the roof . . . he was still going to commit suicide. Despite my attempt to throw off the canon plot, I didn't manage to change a single thing. And though I knew it couldn't be, the voices in my head wouldn't stop whispering.

_Was . . . was it my fault?_

_Was I . . ._

_Was I the reason he was going to . . . ?_

_Was I the the reason Takeshi wanted to die?_

No. _No._

I couldn't judge Takeshi for wanting things to end, and I couldn't dictate what he should or should not feel. But I refused to be the one who was going to feel guilty over this.

"T-Tenth?"

I _refused_.

Without a single glance back to the only boy who had stayed by me, I bolted out of the room.

* * *

"The so-called 'psychotically depressed' person who tries to kill herself doesn't do so out of quote 'hopelessness' or any abstract conviction that life's assets and debits do not square. And surely not because death seems suddenly appealing. The person in whom Its invisible agony reaches a certain unendurable level will kill herself the same way a trapped person will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Make no mistake about people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is still just as great as it would be for you or me standing speculatively at the same window just checking out the view; i.e. the fear of falling remains a constant. The variable here is the other terror, the fire's flames: when the flames get close enough, falling to death becomes the slightly less terrible of two terrors. It's not desiring the fall; it's terror of the flames. And yet nobody down on the sidewalk, looking up and yelling 'Don't!' and 'Hang on!', can understand the jump. Not really. You'd have to have personally been trapped and felt flames to really understand a terror way beyond falling."

― David Foster Wallace

"Jumping from flames to your death, huh? How about if those flames saved you instead?"

― Me

* * *

Saying that the roof had dissolved into complete pandemonium was putting it lightly. Seriously, where the heck was Kyouya? How did he not hear of this disaster yet? Where were the Discipline Committee members anyway? Usually they would be the ones calming such a big crowd.

"Hey, Yamamoto, this isn't funny!"

"You're taking it too far!"

"YAMAMOTO-SAMA PLEASE! YOU'RE AMAZING, DON'T DO THIS!"

. . . And really, wow. Could my stupid classmates act any more useless? What were they doing with their worthless pretty words? Why were they just standing around like this?

"Heh. Sorry, but that's not true. After the baseball god threw me away I have nothing left."

I winced. Ouch. Unlike yesterday, Takeshi now sounded completely emotionless as he stood there . . . with a broken arm. Wow. So he really didn't listen to me, though it was too late to ponder about that now. Glaring at the totally _not_ helping crowd, I shimmied and elbowed my way to the front. With one final push to squiggle my way through two fangirls, I stumbled into the huge space between the fence and the rest of the students.

Tch. Hayato had been wrong; the other students were the real cowards. None of them had even attempted to breach the space, to coax Takeshi away from the dangerous edge.

"Huh? Oh," The taller boy turned his head slightly in surprise at the noises I had made. "Tsuna?"

_Anddd_ , aha. I spoke too soon, for perhaps I was the real coward. Suddenly, the confidence that had gotten me here completely disappeared. I froze, rooted to my spot as I stared at the dark eyes of one surprised Takeshi.

". . ."

Great. This was not what I had been hoping for, and totally what I deserved for rushing into things without a single plan. Not that I would have had the time to make one in the first place. But still . . . what was I supposed to do now?! Yell at the boy for wanting to throw his whole life away just because of a broken arm?

. . .

No, I couldn't do that. This was an extremely delicate matter, and I couldn't downplay Takeshi's thoughts and ideals like that even if they were wrong in my eyes. To Takeshi, baseball was probably his whole life. So how could I understand what he was feeling right now? Baseball to Takeshi was probably what my violin meant to me, and, well. If our positions were flipped . . . then again, it was only a broken arm. It would heal, so I probably would have been fine.

But, even if something like this didn't seem as important to me, it might just mean the world to someone else. And though I loathed to admit it, others had committed suicide for lesser reasons than Takeshi's.

Speaking of Takeshi, he was still staring at me.

. . . Well, in theory, what I needed to do was easy to understand. I just had to convince Takeshi that life was worth living. But . . . that was seriously easier said than done! Sure, I could remember the fanfics I had read about these scene, but none of the things those Tsunas had said seemed applicable at this moment. I didn't want to try and guilt or shame him ( _don't mention his poor dad don't mention poor Tsuyoshi_ ), and I didn't want to belittle his problems. So . . . what could I even say . . . ?

". . . If you came to stop me, it's no use," Takeshi started when he determined that I was not about to speak up first. "But since it's Tsuna, you should be able to understand my feelings."

"Huh?" I stared blankly. Did Takeshi actually know about all those times I had stared at the ground from my window, cynically pondering my chances of survival should I have jumped? No, he couldn't have . . .

"For someone who's called Dame-Tsuna all the time," Takeshi continued, instead answering my once unasked question with an empty smile on his face. "You can understand the feeling of preferring to die over failing at everything, right?"

. . . I _knew it._

Because wow, talk about being _nice_. Ha ha.

Ha . . .

. . . I knew Takeshi never helped me despite seeing how bullied I was ( _he couldn't be that blind, could he?_ ), but it still hurt to have my suspicions confirmed. All those times where he had abandoned me to my bullies, to a beating hidden in plain sight . . . All those times where I wished and prayed that the nice school idol, the one who was never mean to me, would come and save me . . .

Wait, no, no no. It wasn't time to think about that. Now was not the time to feel hurt over such petty things. Now was the time to try and save a _life_.

". . . No," I looked away as I answered his own question, biting down worriedly on my lower lip. Despite my best efforts, perhaps a small tinge of sadness leaked into my quiet voice. "You . . . You and I are diff-different, Yamamoto-san."

After all, Takeshi didn't have a seal that essentially sealed away part of his soul. He didn't struggle to walk down stairs without falling, and he wasn't illiterate. No, Takeshi's situation was worlds different from my own. It wouldn't be an apt comparison if he had compared himself to me. It wasn't even really much of a comparison in the first place.

At my words, however, Takeshi's face immediately darkened.

"How arrogant of the recently awesome Tsuna-sama," he laughed harshly, eyes colder than ice. "So you're now a fine student as opposed to me?"

. . .

Wow. If the situation was any less dire, I would have probably spent a moment to admire how Takeshi, the supposedly lucky-go smiling idiot, designed every one of his sentences to cut and hurt.

Oh wait, I just did.

. . .

Obviously the anime world has skewered my mind and messed up my priorities. Which. I should be getting back to, since one of them still looked quite eager to jump off of the roof.

"Hmm," Takeshi jeered loudly, eyes as dark as coal. "Right, Tsuna-sama?"

". . . Stop putting words into my mouth!" My patience finally snapped as I angrily stalked toward the fence. "I didn't mean that at all, so don't twist my words like that! And just for your information, this wasn't what I meant when I said to take a break!"

"What . . ."

I didn't give Takeshi a chance to respond as I immediately barreled on. "Your arm is broken, I know. Maybe to you, that is worth ending your life right now, and that would be something I wouldn't know. But . . ."

I paused, and to my horror I felt hot tears gathering in my eyes. Though then again, I couldn't say I was too surprised. Why was this happening to me . . . ?

"I . . . I . . . I don't know what else to say," I admitted as I wrung my hands together nervously behind my back. "I can tell you that your arm would heal soon, and that you can play baseball again, but I'm sure you already know that. I can say that you have a bright future in front of you, and that this won't be worth it, but I can't promise that."

"But . . ." I paused again, before looking up at the frozen Takeshi with the most honest expression I could muster. "In the very least, I can promise you that I would miss you, Yamamoto-san. Even if we haven't talked much before, I would miss you so, so much . . ."

(― _aren't you supposed to be my Rain, my lovely Rain, why are you doing this to me stop hurting me you've left me countless times already so please don't please don't please_ ―)

"Please," my smile wobbled dangerously. "Don't go."

.

.

.

A few seconds of silence. And then . . .

.

.

_"Tsuna . . ."_

_._

_._

_._

Takeshi looked transfixed at the tears I was shedding, tears I was crying just because of him. Slowly and to my complete relief, his fake smile from before curled into something more genuine as he let out his own watery chuckle. Walking away from the very edge, Takeshi reached out with his good hand to heave himself over the fence and―

_SNAP!_

Oh, _damn_. I knew I was forgetting something.

The screams that pierced the air as the fence broke and Takeshi fell were going to be the next that graced my nightmares. Without even pausing to think, I rushed over to the edge of the roof before coming to a sudden stop. For a split second, I stared blankly as I watched Takeshi flail desperately in the air.

I knew what I needed to do. But . . .

All those times I had wanted to jump. All those times I had talked myself away from the allure. All those times, where I had pondered . . .

( _If I jumped, from somewhere high like a cliff, would my flames become unsealed? Would they stream out of my body to save me?_

_Could I have my life back again?_

_._

_._

_._

_Could I really risk it? Risk dying, risk my mother seeing my dead body? Could I really do that to sweet Nana, who had only been loving and supportive ever since The Sealing?_ )

I took a deep breath. And then I jumped.

"TENTH!"

Just like how I had imagined so many times before, the wind whistled in my ears as I fell, singing the tantalizing song of freedom. Immediately, however, I saw the problem.

Unlike canon, I didn't fall at the same time as Takeshi. That meant that if everything continued normally, the other boy would be a splatter of blood on the ground long before I could grab him.

Which was _not_ acceptable. But . . . I couldn't do anything about it.

With a sob, I ignored the tears stinging my eyes as I desperately reached out my hands. I was just too far away, so close yet so far. At this rate, Takeshi was going to die, and I would too.

We would both die, and I . . .

I regretted.

_If only I could move in the air. If only I could be like the birds in the sky, who could control the way they flew. If only . . ._

_If only I could fly and be strong enough to save Takeshi._

_If only I could save Takeshi._

_. . . save Takeshi . . ._

.

.

.

My vision flickered orange as a glint from the nearby window distracted me.

"Now is the time to get into your Dying Will, Dame-Tsuna."

**BANG!**

Something hard hit my forehead and I screamed as I felt a distinct . . . _crumbling_ inside of me. At that moment, something broke, something important chipped off . . .

And then something painfully hot burst from my back as everything faded out to a blanket of pretty orange.

* * *

.

.

.

When I finally came to, lucid once more, I realized I was sobbing. Well, in my defense, everything hurt. From my pounding head to my shaking limbs, I just felt like one giant big bruise.

Beside me, there was someone who was desperately trying to wipe away my tears, though they seemed to be losing the battle against my tear ducts. With quiet shushes, they made vaguely soothing sounds that were tinged with the beginnings of panic.

Choking down another hiccup because I began to feel sorry for the frantic person, I looked up shakily to see . . . Takeshi?

Wait.

I looked back down. At the ground. At the ground we were _sitting_ on.

This time, I couldn't hold back my next sob as I trembled in pure relief.

We were safe. Somehow, I did something, and. And we were _safe_. Takeshi was safe and _alive_.

We were _alive_.

"T-Tsuna?! Are you hurt? No, I know you're not . . ." Takeshi was sputtering beside me, his good hand flailing uselessly almost like how it did as he had fell. "Please, please, stop crying. I'm sure you're fine, I mean, your wings are really pretty and cool and awesome so please _please_ stop crying . . ."

. . . Back up, wait.

Wings? Was Takeshi hallucinating? Did he hit his head on the way down?

Peering up through my tears, I glanced back and―

―Ah.

My tears temporarily dried in shock.

Because. I had wings.

Angel-like wings.

Orange angel-like wings made out of _flames._

Huh.

"T-Takeshi," I stuttered hysterically, ignoring how the boy had jolted at his first name. "I have flaming wings. I am a _flaming chicken_."

And with that interesting realization, I gratefully succumbed to the darkness as I leaned to the side and toppled to the ground.

Hopefully, this had all been one crazy fever dream, and nothing had really happened . . .

Ugh, just let me dream, alright?

.

.

.

.

.

I woke up to someone hissing angrily under their breath.

"―you bastard! Just leave already!"

To be honest, I didn't really care about what they were talking about. Except, why were they hissing so loudly? All I wanted to do was sleep . . .

"Stop pretending to sleep if you're already awake, Dame-Tsuna."

Ah, busted. With a quiet groan, I peeled open my heavy eyes and blinked dazedly at the fuzzy figures that hovered around me. I seemed to be in the infirmary of my school and . . .

Wait.

With a start, I realized that both Hayato and Takeshi were seated by my bedside. They both looked extremely worried, to my utmost surprise. But first things first . . .

"Y-Yamamoto-san?" I started worriedly, my voice cracking as I attempted to speak with my parched throat. "Are . . . Are you alright? You're not hurt, a-are you?"

To my surprise, Takeshi looked shocked that I was asking for his health, which, uh? He was the one who fell off of the roof after he was about to jump off of it? Why would I _not_ be worried?

"I'm fine, Tsuna," the boy gave me an uncertain grin. "You should worry more about yourself. I'm not the one in the bed."

Which, point. Scowling, I attempted to get up only to have a Reborn . . . dressed as the nurse (?) push me back down.

And by push, I meant he lightly jumped onto my chest. Urgh, who knew babies were so heavy . . . ?

"Don't you dare get up," Nurse-Reborn scolded me as I gawked at him in shock. "You had a relapse and your fever's back again. And it's not a low one anymore either."

. . . I was sick again? Well, that explained the pounding head and how everything felt way too warm . . . which reminded me.

"I had the weirdest dr-dream . . ."

"What was it, Tenth?" Hayato asked obediently, green eyes wide with worry. Worry for me . . . ?

"I dreamt that I had wings made out of flames," I started with a dazed giggle. "Funny, right?"

". . ."

". . ."

". . ."

". . . Ne-Never-mind," I whimpered as I resisted the urge to cry. "It hadn't been a dream, had it?"

* * *

Apparently, I was really, _really_ sick.

The next few days passed in a daze. Like I had suspected, Nana had been horrified when my ragtag team carried me back home, and immediately slipped straight into Mama Bear mode. In other words, I was swaddled with the fluffiest blankets as she plopped me onto my bed. And, wow, you could not even believe the extent of my happiness. My mother knew me best, and I was totally grateful for the chance to go back to sleep.

I slept a lot then. And drank a lot of broth and medicine. Which was also an interesting story, since according to Nana, half of the broth had been provided by a certain Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, who had 'visited many times with his son'.

Hmm.

On the other hand, Reborn didn't really say much about my wings. Probably because I had been so sick. He had kicked out Hayato and told him to train and to chase away Takeshi so I could sleep in peace. I was really quite grateful, to be honest, because I had gotten some very nice naps.

(Reborn was actually being a lot nicer than I thought he would be. Like, after I had first whimpered in pain when one of Reborn's gunshots made my head pound in agony, every shot afterwards had been done with a silencer. And for once, not of those shots were aimed at _me._ )

Finally, by day three, I felt lucid enough to ask Reborn for math 'homework help'. And it was then did I realize something extraordinary.

"Dame-Tsuna?"

Tears pricked my eyes as I stared at my math textbook. At my math textbook, where the words didn't shift itself into unknown patterns.

For some reason . . . I could read again.

Though I was still pretty much illiterate. I didn't really recognize any of the characters except the most basic ones I had learned when I was almost a decade younger. But still. It was a miracle. Was the seal on my flames gone?

No, though, I could still feel the familiar coldness, so the seal hadn't disappeared yet.

But . . . perhaps it was breaking?

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn drawled, breaking me out of my happy thoughts. "You're on the wrong page."

"Oh, sorry―" I discreetly sniffed, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice as I started flipping through the textbook. Right. I could break down and cry later, out of Reborn's sight. Now was not the time to get emotional, even if I could finally _read again . . .!_

BANG.

The window to my room slammed open. Stiffening in surprise, I spun around in my bed to stare at . . .

"Die, Reborn!"

. . . Wow, Lambo's afro really was as fluffy as the manga had once depicted it.

"First, the target is going to be this number . . ."

I sweat-dropped. Was Reborn really ignoring Lambo, despite the gun in the boy's hands? And seriously, why did Lambo have a gun . . . ? At age five . . . ? Who the heck were his irresponsible parents, geez.

"You . . ." Little Lambo bristled, before he pulled the trigger and . . .

And nothing happened. I sweat-dropped again. Why did anyone think letting Lambo run off to a different country was a good idea? Suddenly, the boy who faced my window disappeared as the branch he was on snapped and. And.

BAM!

Ooooo. I winced. That must have hurt. Carefully getting out of bed, I wobbled to my window and peered out.

"Tsuna, Mama said you shouldn't get out of bed yet."

Briefly ignoring the baby hitman, I blinked in surprise. There was no Lambo on the ground. Had I been hallucinating . . . ?

BAM!

The door to my room slammed open behind me as Lambo tumbled inside. "Long time no see, Reborn! It's me, Lambo!"

"Remember this formula," Reborn told me seriously as I turned around to stare in shock. He tapped the sine law on a formula page he had given to me.

". . ." I said as I stumbled back to my bed.

"Hey, don't ignore me, Reborn!" Lambo yelled as he rushed forward. "I'll kill you, damn it!"

(I was still staring blankly at the scene, though now I was a bit horrified. Lambo was _five_. Why was he already swearing?!)

"Gyupyah!" On the other hand, Reborn kicked Lambo into the wall. Hard.

"Reborn!" I blanched. That was not the way to treat a child. Scrambling to get to my feet, I ignored the brief wave of nausea as I tried to make my way to the poor kid.

. . .

The poor kid who suddenly stood up, nonchalantly as if he didn't sport a big bruise on his forehead. "I, Lambo-san, five years old, from Italy, a hitman from the Bovino Famiglia, tripped! Favourite foods are grapes and candies and I, Lambo-san, who met Reborn at a bar, just tripped!"

. . . I didn't know what to say. Really. I was speechless.

"With the sine formula," Reborn continued slowly. "Solve this question over here."

". . ."

"Tolerate . . ."

Lambo sniffed. I glanced at him nervously before scribbling down Reborn's math question onto my piece of paper. "It's four, right?"

"Yes, it's four," Reborn nodded in satisfaction before he flipped to the next page. "Now, let's look at the cosine law―"

"Fohohoho," Lambo spoke up again, cutting the deadly baby hitman off. I winced when Reborn fell unnervingly silent. "This time, I borrowed a lot of weapons from the boss, that are passed down in the Bovino family."

Oh. _Oh._ I stiffened. Oh no, it couldn't be _that_ , could it?

"Tadaaa!" Lambo continued as he pulled a freaking _bazooka_ out of his _hair_. What was happening?! I should throw away my physics textbook since the laws of physics obviously didn't apply here! "This is the Ten Year Bazooka! Those who are shot with this can, for five minutes, switch with their self ten years in the future!"

Immediately, I ignored the weakness in my limbs as I rushed over to the younger boy. The bazooka was mostly harmless, but I didn't want him to pull out something even worse . . .

"But this is only a demo version, and I found something else more fun! Gupyahahahaha! A hand-grenade!"

Whoops, too late.

As Lambo went flying out of my window again courtesy of Reborn, I grabbed my coat and rushed outside. Hopefully, the grenade didn't kill Lambo . . . or the darling tree outside my window . . .

. . .

What? To be honest, I really don't like kids much . . . and the resulting explosion from the grenade just upped the pounding in my head, _ouch_.

.

.

.

So, I patiently took Lambo on a walk, obediently sat through his sob story about wanting to take over the world, before ultimately bringing him back for dinner. On the bright side, Hayato was out today training again or something. It was rather fortunate because I really didn't want to add him into this disaster.

This disaster as in, oh, look, Lambo was pulling out his bazooka again. Somewhat resigned to it, I cringed as he pointed the bazooka at his head and fired. With a big burst of smoke, the person who was left sitting in Lambo's seat was . . .

Oh. Oh, _wow_. Hello there, hottie.

I leaned forward and blinked, slightly shocked. Puberty served Lambo really well. Really, _really_ well. I was kind of jealous, to be honest. His waist was probably as thin as mine, and he was a head or so taller than me . . .

"Goodness, it seems I was brought back ten years by the Ten Year Bazooka . . ."

Older Lambo yawned his words and lazily blinked twice before he . . . spotted me and rushed over with a bright smile?

Okay, I was so, so lost. Because, um, what? Was he supposed to do that?

"Nee-chan! Oh, man, you look so cute at this age! The pictures really don't do you justice!" Older Lambo beamed. I blinked blankly again at the sudden change in mood. Was the boy bipolar? "Nee-chan, I'm so sorry for being a brat right now and thank you so much for taking care of me anyway! And―!"

Suddenly, Lambo paused before his eyes narrowed at me. I gulped discreetly at his dangerous expression. What did I do?!

"Ah, Nee-chan, you look really pale . . ."

Without any warning (because I would have really liked some, _thanks_ ), the younger, er, older boy leaned forward . . . to touch my forehead with his own? My face burned red in embarrassment as I stared in shock at the glimmering green eyes, a shade different from Hayato's. What the heck was happening? I was pretty sure this never happened in canon!

When did Lambo ever care about Tsuna in canon, anyway?!

"Nee-chan," Lambo pulled back with a worried expression. "Maybe you should go lie down or something. Do you have any medicine? I'm pretty sure you have a fever right now, your temperature is really abnormal."

". . ." I gaped at him speechlessly. _Seriously_ , what was happening?! What did I do for the future to change this much?

Turning around with a scowl, Lambo located Reborn and pointed an angry finger at him. But instead of the words of challenge I could vaguely remember canon!Lambo saying once upon a time, he just huffed angrily.

"Reborn! Why aren't you taking care of Nee-chan better? She's sick again, why isn't she with a doctor?"

". . ." Reborn stared at us unnervingly, contemplatively, and I fought the urge to shiver. Slowly, he cocked his head to the side.

"Sick, again?"

". . . Oh, damn, I wasn't suppose to say anything about the future," Lambo blanched, looking a bit worried before, after a glance to me, he seemed to steel himself. "But yes. Remember to take better care of Nee-chan, Reborn."

And with a puff a smoke, big Lambo disappeared and little Lambo re-emerged once again. This time, however, he only quietly stared at me before blinking slowly.

"Nee-chan? You look really tired and red . . ."

* * *

(After the scratch on my hand cause via broken pencil healed, I happily went back to playing my violin. I did a lot of practicing, these days. In fact, I was practicing whenever I wasn't sleeping, or whenever my headache wasn't too bad. By now, my lovely Havanaise actually sounded lovely once again. Perhaps I could think about registering for a competition . . .

Anyway, other than actually making music, I also cried a bit in my small musical haven. Because I hadn't been mistaken.

I could read again.

_I could read again_.

I pored over all the Mafia books Reborn gave me before, especially all of the ones written in English. And, just.

_I . . ._

_I could read again_.)

* * *

When I was finally better enough to go back to school, I rejoiced. Sure, staying home was nice, and I may or may not have gained some more respect for Reborn (he was a really good teacher, to my surprise), but I was really aching for things to go back to normal. Being bedridden really wasn't that fun.

So, I woke up early that day to help my mother prepare some lunches before heading out with Hayato. I even gave a sleepy Lambo a hug before I left. And yes, Lambo was staying with us too. But to my surprise, whether it was because of a miracle or something else, Lambo and Hayato still haven't tried killing each other yet. To be honest, Lambo had been awfully well-behaved ever since he had shot himself with the Ten Years Bazooka . . .

Anyway, I didn't even walk past the corner before someone sidled up next to me and Hayato.

"Hi, Tsuna!"

Turning around slightly, I gave Takeshi a neutral smile before I ducked my head in a semblance of a polite bow. "Hello, Yamamoto-san."

Takeshi's smile seemed to wilt a bit. I, on the other hand, felt as if I had kicked a puppy . . . No, no. I was not the one at wrong; of course I had the right to be weary! After all, Takeshi had ignored me for years, even when I was at my worst, and now he wants to be buddy-buddy? Because of some misplaced sense of owing me, or something?

"Tch," Hayato growled softly even as he gave Takeshi a glare. "What are you doing here, baseball idiot?"

"Maa, maa," Takeshi chuckled, but I did not miss how his eyes seemed to sharpen. "Don't be like that, Gokudera! I'm just here to walk to school with Tsuna! It's my job, after all!"

I abruptly stopped in my tracks. Wait, what? What job?

"Yamamoto Takeshi has joined your family, isn't it great?" A squeaky voice piped up beside me as I stared at Takeshi in complete shock. Reborn gave me a very sweet smile. "He passed Family Entrance Test while you were still bedridden."

_What._

"Isn't this Mafia Game so fun and exciting?" Takeshi grinned at me, though the sharp look in his eyes did not fade. Swinging his arm around my frozen figure, Takeshi gave me a quick, earnest hug before his tone turned cheerful. "But don't worry, my dear boss Tsuna. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you!"

.

.

.

Huh. I resisted the urge to moan as my mind raced. Maybe I should have stayed home for another sick day after all . . .

* * *

**Chapter VIII End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /waves weakly/ Aha, hi guys! I've been pretty dead lately because I was always sick (headaches galore, I probably felt worse than poor Tsuna here, and I missed so many days of school before my exams . . .), and my next exam is in a day but instead of studying I'm writing this chapter. Wow, my priorities.
> 
> Anyway, this is seriously a super important chapter, even though I doubt I actually did it justice. Please don't yell at me, weeps, I tried my best. I just . . . have this feeling that I lost a bunch of followers with this chapter aha. The suicide attempt and Tsuna's response . . . from what I researched, reminding the person that you're there and you hear them, and that you'll miss them seems to be the only thing a friend could do. So I hope you guys think Tsuna handled it well.


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